


Don't Unwrap Until Christmas

by Jack_Dawe



Category: Hmofa
Genre: BDSM, Coyote - Freeform, F/M, Toys, comfy, neeerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:48:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28355730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jack_Dawe/pseuds/Jack_Dawe
Relationships: Dylan Webb / Juliana Mitchell
Kudos: 1





	Don't Unwrap Until Christmas

“Thank you for shopping at Orchard. Come again Soon!”

“T-Thanks, you too!” The cute little bobcat working the counter didn’t say anything about Dylan’s faux pas, but the funny look she gave him made him blush even harder. At that point, though, he couldn’t care less, already being plenty embarrassed.  
“Merry Christmas to you!” he blurted, trying to salvage the tatters of decorum. He hastily grabbed the bags he’d just bought, looking to get out of the store as quickly as possible. Prior to now, he’d never have thought that shopping at a hardware store could be such an awkward experience. Of course it had to be the friendly, innocent looking, high-schooler at the checkout instead of some grizzled old retiree. At least then it would have been that little bit more impersonal.

A hardwood yardstick, some bailing twine, a spool of nylon rope - the softest braid they had -, some carabiners, and some webbing straps... None of the things he bought - on their own or even together - would be considered out of the ordinary, but as with so many things, it’s all about how you use them. 

[It all started with that stupid book] Dylan thought to himself, as he pulled into his parking spot outside his apartment.  
“Fucking Grey Steele and Anne Christian putting ideas in her head…” he mumbled, spotting the packages from Jeff’s, as well as some other - less wholesome - webstores, sitting outside his door. He barged past the packages, quickly unlocking his door and dumping his work bag and hardware store purchases in the foyer. Hands freed, he snatched the packages off his doorstep, feeling oddly conspicuous about what looked like regular old shipments.

\----

The reason he was going through all this trouble was Juliana Mitchell, his quiet, quirky, girlfriend of two years. He had met the little coyote in a computer science class back in college. She had been a Sophmore in the CS program, taking the class as an intro to programming. He had been a junior, taking the class to fulfill a programming requirement for his engineering degree. She couldn’t have been more than 5 foot 2 with her ears perked straight up. What’s more, she had a wiry, nay scrawny, build and a shy, almost taut, demeanor that matched the stereotypes about her kind (both species and major) to a ‘t’.

The first time he actually talked to her, it was 2:00AM on a Thursday night in the Linux Lab. He had been working on his project since 5:00, and was the last of his group still working. She had snuck in at 11:00, after most people had left, and had hidden at the far corner of the lab. When she had put her things away to leave, he started laughing like a madman. The hopeless feeling of being the last person in the lab had simply pushed his already frayed nerves over the edge. When he saw her tail tuck in fear and her ears snap forward, he got a hold of himself and apologized.  
“Hey. *hehe* Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to spook you, there. Odd things seem funny when it’s this late, and watching the last person to arrive in the lab leave before you is one of them.”

“Oh… Um… That’s okay. I guess…” She’d said, still obviously nervous.

“Shoot, where are my Manners? I’m Dylan. Dylan Webb.” She looked at him for a long moment, clearly trying to decide whether or not to continue the conversation. 

“I… I’m Juliana.”

“Do you have a last name, Juliana?” He asked, as much to help commit her name to memory as anything.

“It’s, Uhh, Mitchell” She responded, tentatively.

“Well, Julie. It’s nice to talk with you. You’re in ‘Intro C’ too, right? Were you just working on the project?”

“Oh, yeah. Haha.” she laughed, a bit less nervously. “It’s one of the required courses for my major, but I’m only taking it because there’s no way to test out of it. I’ve been coding in C++ since high school.” She seemed to gain a little more confidence, talking about something she knew. Grabbing her glasses by their right arm, she hiked them back up her muzzle a bit.

“Hey, no kiddin’!” He responded, almost a little too enthusiastically. “I’m absolutely stuck trying to build this menu, and everyone from my group bailed hours ago. If you could show me what I’m doing wrong, I might actually be able to get some sleep tonight!” He pressed his palms together in a mock beg. “Pretty please?”

“I umm…” Julie glanced around, suddenly very aware of how alone they were in the lab. Her tail tucked back between her legs again and her hair stood on end. She backed a bit away from him.

“Sorry, sorry. My bad. I should just let you get going.” Dylan looked at the ground, a bit defeated. “I’m sure I’ll figure this out. ...somehow. It was nice talking to you.” 

“Thanks, I’ll… uhh…” She stopped herself mid-farewell, finally noticing the defeat on Dylan’s face. “Well… I… I suppose I might be able to take a look.” Julie made her way slowly over to him, approaching at an angle. She was tense, like a wild animal approaching someone with a scrap of food. Noticing her apprehension, he got up from his seat, offering it to her, and grabbed the one next to it. He left her a bit of distance and generally tried to make himself look as non-threatening as possible. He realized that trying to do so probably only made things worse, but did his best to hide his amusement at the catch 22. More laughter at his own train of thought would not help her nerves or his case.

“Thank you sooooo much. You’re a lifesaver! Okay, so my code crashes at around line 473. I know the problem is a little further up, maybe even in my declarations section.” As Julie made it over, Dylan tried to get right down to business, hoping to keep on a topic she was comfortable with.

“Okay… let’s have a peek here. ...wow - your syntax is terrible.” Once she was in her element, the hesitance was gone, replaced - to Dylan’s chagrin - with the directness he’d started to associate with programmer types. He didn’t respond, electing instead to stare at her, an unamused expression on his face. “Oh, uhhh… sorry. I know most of this came from the assignment instructions. It’s just so… well… clunky.”

“Heh, I’m sure I didn’t help there… This really isn’t my forte, as I’m sure you can tell.”

“Oh, it’s… umm… it’s not THAT bad. You just need to get some of your arguments in better order. Your do-loop, here, is a little out of whack and it’s causing a stack error. Probably where your code is getting bound up.”

“Okay, that helps… care to show me?”

Over the next half hour or so, Julie ran through Dylan’s work in its entirety, catching and explaining errors as simple as misplacing a comma, and as complicated as optimizing his algorithms to minimize reliance on iterative operations. When it was all said and done, she hit the compile button, getting up and ready to leave before it was even done loading the language file.

“Hey, ummm, Julie?” He asked, now a little nervous himself.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t suppose you’d, uhh… you’d let me buy you dinner? You know, to - like - thank you for helping me out and all.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I was happy to help.”

“Please?” he asked, genuine worry playing across his face and bleeding into his tone. “It’d be my pleasure.”

“Like I said, it’s- ...oh.” She caught herself, finally getting the gist of what he was asking. “I… well…” She stood there blushing clean through her fur. Dylan swore he could almost see steam pouring out of the collar of her Red Dwarf T-shirt. “Yes... I-I’d like that.”

Dylan breathed an audible sigh of relief, electing to give Julie a moment to collect herself.  
*DING!* The overly cheerful audio prompt pierced the short silence between the two, completely derailing Dylan’s train of thought.  
“Yes!!! It compiled on the first try! You’re awesome!” He exclaimed, opening up the program and playing around with the interface. “This works way better than the one the professor showed in class! Hey Julie - “ Dylan looked back up from the computer, to see that Julie had disappeared. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow… I hope.” He muttered to the empty lab.

\----

As Dylan reminisced about their first meeting, he sat down to cut, whip, and fuse the spool of rope into usable lengths, as recommended on the various shibari websites he’d been researching. To her credit, Julie had sat next to him in class the next day, finally giving him the opportunity to work out the details of their first date. It had taken her a solid 5 dates over 3 weeks to warm up to the idea of dating properly, but their first kiss…

\----

They were walking back to Julie’s dorm from a sushi dinner, and were having a bit of an argument over whether the Anime or Manga of Ghost in the Shell was better.  
“...besides, it’s not like either of us can read Japanese. You’re looking at an English translation either way you slice it.” he hadn’t really been into the Japanese comic scene, but Julie was bringing him around to some of it. 

“Oh, come on Dylan, you know the source material is always better! You said as much about The Lord of the Rings…”

“...which, I remember, you argued to a stalemate” He said, giving her a playful nudge with his elbow. “Besides, what about Batman Begins?” She thought about that for a second, not wanting to give ground on her argument on principle.

“Well… hmm… I guess I’m just not that into the whole Marvel / DC superhero comics thing. That shouldn’t count.”

“...and a hunky Christian Bale learning Ninjutsu to fight a roguish Cillian Murphy doesn’t have anything to do with it?”

“Hey!” She blushed through her fur, reflexively covering her snout with a paw. ”That’s not what we were talking about!”

“Is that why you like the manga better? No need to keep Major Motoko in TV friendly amounts of clothing?” He asked, giving her a goofy smile.

“No! That’s not- I mean… I-I’m not even interested in girls!” At this she’d turned away from him, clearly too embarrassed to want to be seen.

“Jules… Come on, I’m just pulling your tail.” he said, guiding her off the walkway and under one of the many oak trees on the north quad. When she looked up at him questioningly, he couldn’t help himself. Cradling the back of her head in his left hand, he guided her face up towards his. “Have I told you how cute you are when you get all embarrassed like this?” He leaned down a bit, bringing his face closer to hers. She looked up towards him, eyes wide in surprise. After a long moment, she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, but didn’t close the gap between them. Realizing that she’d reached the limit of her boldness, he made the final move, lightly pressing his lips to the tip of her snout. He lingered there for just a moment, rolling his lips in slightly to gently pull on her lower lip.

He backed away, taking her lip with him for a bit, and not stopping until he had enough space to look her in the eyes properly. She took what felt like forever to open her eyes again, clearly savoring the sensation, committing every detail to memory. He let her be, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts until she was ready. When she finally opened her eyes, there was a confidence Dylan hadn’t seen outside of the computer lab, albeit with a hungry edge to it.

“So that’s what it feels like…” She almost whispered, slightly awestruck. Looking away for a moment, she touched her index and middle fingers to her lips.

“Wait… was that your first kiss?!” he blurted out in shock.

“I-I-i… I’m sorry. Is that- was it... bad?!” She asked, concern creeping into her features. 

He started to laugh, but caught himself, when Julie tried to turn away from him. “Oh, Jules...” he whispered, trying at once to comfort and chastise. Catching her shoulder and turning her back to him, he continued, “It was incredible… I’m happy to be your first.” He gave her a gentle smile, watching the warmth return to her features. “As a matter of fact…” he pulled her close, looking deep into her amber eyes. He moved in for another kiss, but before he could close the distance, Julie lunged forward, pressing her lips into his. She was clearly unfamiliar with what to actually do when kissing someone, but he found her enthusiasm adorable. He shared a long moment with her, pulling at her upper then lower lips. He worked a couple of different angles, but was careful to keep things closed mouthed.

Before either of them could get too carried away, he broke the kiss off, pulling his head away and pulling Julie into a tight hug. She looked up at him, eyes glazed over.  
“Uh… wow.” was all she could manage, pressing her head into his chest, and burying her face in his coat. He didn’t push things further that night, choosing instead to spend the evening watching a movie with her. Over the next couple of weeks, though, Julie shared a number of other important firsts with him (though those are stories for another time...)

\----

Finished with the ropework, Dylan set the various lengths of rope in a neat pyramid at the foot of his bed. That job done, he began opening the various other packages, confirming that everything had arrived as ordered and testing out some of the things he bought. The handcuffs and manacles he’d bought from Jeff’s turned out to be every bit as legit as he’d hoped. 2,500 fetishists and basement dwellers claiming to be bounty hunter’s weren’t wrong after all… He put the handcuffs in the top drawer of his bedside table alongside the beefiest pair of trauma shears he’d ever seen (or until now purchased). He hooked one loop of the manacles to his bed frame before tucking the rest under the bed’s dust ruffle.

Next, he took the four webbing straps and tied each around a corner of the bed frame in a lark’s head. The loops of each knot went around the outside of the corner and the free ends went up the inside, to ensure that they wouldn’t shift around. He made a loop in the free end of each strap using a spring cinch and clipped a carabiner through each of the free loops. Finally, he took each of the restraints and tucked it between the box spring and the bed rail for easy access.

Carefully opening the smallest of the unmarked boxes, he inspected the crown jewel of his haul. Sitting on a pillow of crimson silk, inside a crushed velvet jewelry box, was a dainty black leather collar. Made of full-grain deerskin, it felt incredibly soft, but had plenty of heft to be noticeable to the wearer. A full liner and backing over the buckle helped to ensure that the wearer’s hair - of fur, in this case - would not get caught or pulled unintentionally. Black lace graced the top and bottom of the collar, stitched into its rolled seams. Along the lower seam, a quartet of discrete black D-rings were mounted at regular intervals for bondage play. To top it all off, the collar was studded with face cut crystals in silver mountings. Alongside the collar, he’d purchased a matching deerskin leash, which was shipped in its own black silk drawstring bag.

Last but not least, he opened the decidedly unmarked box and ran through his order. Going down the invoice, he pulled out a Crop, a Flogger, a half-dozen vibrating contraptions sporting silicone appendages, and a curiously ornate set of nipple clamps. Shaking his head at the absurdity of using all this crap on his shy, quiet, innocent ‘yote, he dragged the haul into the bedroom. He hid most of the vibrating toys in the same drawer as the handcuffs. Holding the crop in his hands, he stared at it for a while, wondering what Julie could possibly see in this sort of thing. Being a bit of a traditionalist, he’d opted for an actual riding crop. It was much better built than the novelty items found at most adult toy stores but lacked the weighted tongues and stiffer spines common to more aggressive fetish gear.  
“...Fuck it. Should probably test drive this stuff before I use it on Julie…” Rolling up the leg of his jeans, Dylan took aim at his calf and gave it a tentative swat.

*snap* The leather loop of the crop made a tremendous amount of noise, but barely even registered as a pinch where it hit him. The skin pinked slightly and tingled some, but that was about it.  
“Hmm… Well… Maybe that’s the trick? I wonder…”

*snap* *Snap!* *SNAP!* *CRACK!!!* Over the course of a couple whacks with the crop, Dylan went from a light wristy swing to a healthy full swing, to a firm snap of the elbow he had worried would actually draw blood.  
“Okay… Ow.” he said to no one and nothing in particular, looking at the now rosy patch he’d created on his leg. It stung with some residual heat, and pulsed gently with the increased blood flow, but that was about it. He still had no idea what Julie saw in this shit, but if this was really what she wanted to try, he’d oblige her. Setting the riding crop aside, he picked up the flogger. Looking like a cat-o-nines without the flesh-rending barbs, it seemed worryingly medieval. [Still…] he figured. [If the crop could be that ineffectual, how bad could this be?]

Aiming at his calf again, Dylan took a hearty swing from the elbow and snapped his wrist, making the tails of the whip literally whistle through the air before impact.  
*hissss-CRACK!!* “Jesus! FUCK!!!” he shouted, dropping the flogger and grabbing the outside of his shin. The tips of the tails had landed well long of his calf, whipped around his shin and slammed hard into the outside of his leg. The follow through pulled the overthrown cords of the whip back over his shin, further accelerating the tips before impact.  
“Okay, fuck that thing. Nope. Nope! fuckin’- ...Noooo way.” picking the flogger up, he marched over to his closet and hurled it into a moving box full of unused knick-knacks. He’d figure out what to do with it later, but using it on Julie wasn’t exactly in the running. With a frustrated frown, he trudged back to his bed and sat heavily on the edge. Flopping unceremoniously onto his back, he closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting his thumb and index finger press gently on the lids of his eyes.  
“Fuck… I’m /so/ in over my head. What am I even doing?!” he mumbled to himself as he ran a hand through his hair. After a long pause, he sat back up, jostling some of the toys still sitting on the bed spread. As he let his hands come to rest at his sides, one happened to brush against the yardstick he’d picked up from the hardware store. Straightening his leg out, he looked at the welts forming where the flogger had struck. He chuckled for a moment and shook his head, before rolling up his left sleeve to test out the yardstick...

\----

In the first year he’d known her, Dylan had watched Julie grow from the reclusive girl he’d met in the Linux Lab to the confident, if reserved woman he loved. From the tentative, stuttering, first time they’d been intimate, she’d developed into an enthusiastic, communicative, and giving lover. While neither was the most adventurous in bed, they’d managed to bump, grind, lick, and suckle their way through the basic positions, and had tried them in most of the usual - if private - places. He was ecstatic about figuring out how best to extract orgasms from his lithe Coyote lover and she was still riding the drawn out high of her introduction to lovemaking.

Beyond the more intimate aspects of their relationship, Julie and Dylan had found their divergent strengths to be a huge help when it came to each of their degrees. With Julie’s help, Dylan had gone from muddling through the minimum required programming courses to getting a minor in Computer Science. Julie, meanwhile, had found that having someone to help her with her general engineering courses left her all sorts of free time to read, game, and watch TV. When - *ahem* - /THAT/ fucking book* had come out, she picked up a copy and dove into it headfirst, despite Dylan teasing her about it mercilessly. Cover to cover, it had only taken a long weekend to read, but the impression it left on her proved to be decidedly longer lasting.  
(*Narrator’s note, Dylan requested that I describe it as such. I had no reason not to oblige. Julie found all of this hilarious.)

The changes were subtle at first. When making love, for example, Julie had started to ask for rougher and rougher treatment, preferring positions where she was constrained, dominated, or in some other way made passive. While Dylan was happy to discover that she enjoyed a good mating press, he couldn’t help but tease his coyote girlfriend about begging for doggy style. Still, it didn’t exactly stop him from lying over her back and wrapping her tight in his arms when he came inside her. When she first asked him to bite her neck when he came, he was more than a little taken aback. Still.. the first time she managed to actually talk him into it, she came so hard that he made it a regular part of their lovemaking. 

While most of the changes were welcome, and could even be considered part of normal exploration, some of her new habits started to verge on deviant. Last Christmas, for example, Dylan had stopped by Julie’s apartment to pick her up for brunch. The plan was to get a quick date in before heading to his parents house for dinner. When he knocked on her door, she’d yanked it open on the third knock, leaving him standing there awkwardly, his fist still raised. Where he’d expected to find the the little ‘yote dressed up - or at least as dressed up as she got - he saw a rather disheveled, wild-eyed, Julie peeking around the door excitedly, if not maniacally. She’d only opened it a crack, the door chain still in place. It was as if she was desperately trying to hide what was going on behind it.  
“Hey Dylan! You’re ear-” She caught herself mid sentence to check the clock on the wall “...oh. You’re - like - 5 minutes late. ...and I’m not ready.” She stood there for a moment, looking as though she was trying to collect her thoughts.  
“Oh, hey! Come in, come in!” She closed the door enough to get the chain unlatched. Reopening it only slightly wider than before, she practically dragged him through the threshold, slamming the door shut behind her.  
“Hey you! I’m almost done here. I’ll just be a little while longer.”

“You sure you’re almost ready for Brunch?” He asked incredulously. As cute as she looked in in her ‘D&D Girls Love the D(20)’ shirt and electric blue panites, it didn’t appear that she’d exactly started getting dressed for the day. If Dylan was being honest with himself, it didn’t appear that she’d even slept the night before.

“Yeah, sure! I'm almost done here! I… actually, could you call them and reschedule for a little later? Maybe an extra hour or something?” she called across the room at him. She had already raced back behind her massive desktop monitor and was typing aggressively.  
“...you want some coffee?”

“I mean - how long do you really think you're going to be, exactly?” Though he didn’t answer her question, he headed over to the kitchen.

“HEY!! I SAID I'M ALMOST DONE!” She shouted, jumping out of her chair and balling her fists, her ears pressed back against her head, and glasses askew. Huffing, she re-adjusted her glasses and sat back down. 

“Jeez! Sorry Jules… I just need to know what to tell the hostess when I call.” He grabbed the empty coffee pot and waved it above his head. “You have another pot I'm not aware of?”

“No... Uhh… You want a monster instead?” She tapped the stack of empty cans on the edge of her desk with her knuckles. “There's a couple in the fridge.”

“Thanks, but I think I'll pass. You want any coffee, yourself? I can always brew another pot.”

“No. Stop interrupting.” With that, Julie dove back into her work. Conversation over, Dylan shrugged, walked into the living room and dropped heavily onto the couch. Pulling out his new phone - the Droid Julie had insisted he get - he dialed the banquet hall to reschedule their reservation. 

A frantic quarter of an hour later, Julie slammed the enter key on her mechanical keyboard triumphantly.  
“Aaaaaaaaand…. DONE!!” She shouted, jumping out of her chair and running over to Dylan. She leaned over his phone and pulled him into a huge sloppy kiss - more of a lick, really. The taste of stale coffee and energy drinks nearly knocked him back in his seat. When she straddled him and pulled his hands to her breasts, it did knock him back in his seat.

“Well hey, you!” He said massaging her petite perky breasts and leaning in to plant kisses around her neck. She ground hard against his groin, dragging her already soaking, panty clad, lips up and down his slacks.  
“I could be wrong, but you seem a bit pent up. Is there any way I could help you *ahem* relax?” He asked, running his hands up her back and pulling her chest tight against him. “I can always just cancel our reservation.”

“NO!!!” She practically shrieked, jumping off of him and stumbling slightly on shaky legs.  
“No. I mean- You went and got us reservations, and… well… And I'd...uhh… I'd hate to refuse something nice you did for me, I mean, for us! Yeah, for us!”

“Oooookay… Just wanted you to know that the option was there. ...You sure you don't want an extra hand in the shower?” He asked, gently hinting that she could use one - a shower and an extra hand.... “You know, to help with - er - nerves before we leave?”

“Nope! No need! I'll just have to exercise... some… restraint.” She grabbed one of his hands at each pause, squeezing them at the end of her sentence. “What I want you to do - “ She leaned in and kissed him mid sentence, “ -is to keep an ear open for the compiler. Let me know if it finishes successfully while I'm freshening up.” With that, she trotted off to the bathroom. As she got close, she stripped off her shirt and - more awkwardly - her panties, throwing both through her bedroom door, ostensibly on the floor. Dylan watched the spectacle, letting a loving, if bemused, grin play across his face. As she got to the bathroom door, she spun around, giving him a full frontal view of her naked form. She looked lovingly at him for the faintest of moments, before slamming her eyes hard shut, throwing up the pace sign, and sticking her tongue out at him.

“God help me, I’m in love with a Weeb.” He called as she threw the door shut behind herself. Almost immediately, he could hear the sound of running water coming from the shower, so he went back to the article he’d been reading on his phone. As tempted as he was to sneak in after her and help scratch that certain itch - one he was starting to feel as well, if he was being honest with himself - she seemed unusually insistent on making their date today. Besides, Julie was usually the type to reward him for ‘obedience’ as she liked to call it, so he was inclined to do as she asked. He followed this train of thought into his memories, and had just started recalling some spicier ‘rewards’, when Julie’s computer played a happy little melody.

More than a little curious what had kept her up all night, Dylan hauled himself up from his seat on the couch and strolled over to her computer. Looking at the screen, he could see a folder containing a couple of log files, an installer, and a program file called PavLove_Rev_1_0_3.apk sitting in front of the compiler. He pulled up the editor to try and see what she was working on, but there were almost no notes and the code was waaaaay beyond him. What wasn’t beyond him, however, were the various alternative lifestyle blogs and websites she had pulled up on her Tor browser. He tabbed to one page, only to see thumbnails of videos stacked top to bottom featuring human and anthro women tied, manacled and locked into all sorts of insane contraptions. Some looked like they were being fucked mercilessly by a plethora of creatively assembled machines. Some appeared to be in various states of coital stupor from the rough fucking their male captors were giving them. A worrying number of the videos showed girls receiving torture ranging from whipping and flogging to unnerving things involving needles. Disturbed and a more than a little disgusted, dylan tabbed away from the page.

Outside of the video site, she’d pulled up a bunch of Forum pages discussing lighter domination play, with more than a couple posts talking about edging and denial. He also saw a couple of articles on ordering custom printed circuit boards, a couple of alibaba pages with what looked like mobile electronic components, and a pair of pages with the technical specifications of different vibrators. Dylan tabbed over to the next page and-

“Hey, get offa there! You’re gonna ruin the surprise!!!” Julie leapt from the bathroom, naked and still sopping wet. She ran over to where Dylan was sitting, still frozen from being unexpectedly caught red handed. Diving in between him and the computer desk, she quickly hit the win+L hotkey then spun to face him, standing between him and the screen.  
“Don’t touch my computer! There’s private stuff on there!” She cried lamely, shaking with nervous anger. 

“Umm… Uhh… Sorry Jules? I didn’t mean to look through your stuff. I uhh… I just heard the compiler wrap up, and wanted to see if it had completed successfully. You made it sound kind of important…”

“Oh… Well… Don't snoop through my stuff… Did it work?” She asked, seeming to drop the line of questioning about her privacy.

“what? ...oh, yeah! The Compiler! Yeah, I think so! It kicked out a folder with a .apk(?) file an-”

“YES!!!! FIRST TRY!” She shouted, doing a little victory dance and jumping around excitedly. “Gimme your phone!” As Dylan clumsily dug his phone out of his pocket, she snatched it from him. “Go! Sit on the couch, and don’t go poking around on my computer.” with that, she shooed him away, before turning around and unlocking her desktop. Still standing, still dripping wet, she connected his phone, and did a bit more typing before heading back into the bathroom.

Dylan sat awkwardly, having little more to do than twiddle his thumbs while Julie got herself ready. To try and keep himself occupied, he kept an ear open to track her progress. Clearly still in a rush, Julie clattered her way through toweling off and blow drying her fur. By degrees, things quieted down as she went through the rest of her routine. When she went into her room to get dressed, however, he could hear some oddly loud clicking, followed by a quiet “Aaahhnn” of a moan. An extremely long 5 minutes later, a much more composed looking Julie strode into the living room modeling a red, white, and green plaid skirt under a fitted green cable knit sweater. The collar of a crisp white shirt popped out around the sweater’s neck, pulling it down just enough to let Julie’s winter floof pop out. Swinging past her computer, she grabbed Dylan’s phone. She sashayed over to him, and in one smooth motion, rolled into his lap.  
“Merry Christmas!” She beamed, handing him his phone with a flourish. Taking it from her, he noticed an odd new app on his home screen. The icon looked like a coyote head winking at him.  
“Hey, so you know how my research project this year was on communication across different data transfer protocols within mobile devices?”

“Yeah. You might have mentioned it a couple of times... Something to do with text and bluetooth and mobile data?”

“I mean… I /guess/ at a super high level, yeah. It’s more about accessing data across different phone applications and using that data as inputs to other apps.”

“Okay, so what does this have to do with my phone and, well, what sounds like a Christmas present?”

“Fine… fine…” She huffed, a little disappointed that he didn’t want to talk shop with her. “Okay, so open the new app on your home page. You should be able to tell the one.”

When Dylan tapped the Icon, his phone flashed to a black screen with the cartoon caricature of a coyote head smiling, then panting, then howling. When the little animation finished, the screen faded out to what looked like a roughly designed digital mixer. There were two volume sliders with a button switch below each and a drop down menu above each for ‘patterns’. A pair of radio buttons sat to the far right of the screen, allowing the user to slave one or both of the sliders to the phone’s volume buttons. Above the drop down menus, a pair of intermittent buttons with the label ‘custom pattern’ sat, easily accessible. At the very top of the screen was a little indicator lamp, illuminated, with the words ‘On Air’ written over it.

“Hey, this is a neat little interface!” He said, playing with the menus. “What’s it do, exactly?” With that, he slid the leftmost slider all the way up, and popped the accompanying button switch. Immediately, he could hear a slight whirring, and Julie slammed her legs tight together before forcing herself to relax a bit.

“T-t-that’s the-the gift” She she stammered out, her voice clearly strained.

“Okay, hang on a sec…” He brought the slider back down to a lower level. ...though - she noted - he didn’t turn it all the way off.  
“... you’re joking.”

“No Joke! Check it out!” She grabbed his free hand and slipped it under the hem of her skirt. Grinding a little further into his lap, she pressed his hand over the crotch of her panties where he found a surprisingly robust bullet vibrating dutifully away between her lips, its rounded nose nestled tightly against her clit.  
“This one…” she said, Taking the phone from his hand and inching the left slider up “...is f-for the one that got /LEFT/ outside.” She dragged the slider back down to where Dylan had left it.  
“...and this one…” she huffed into his ear, flipping the right slider as high as it would go, and tapping the button below it “... Is - aaaahh - is for the one that's - ooh - that's /RIGHT/ inside.” At this, she guided his hand under the side of her panties where he found a soft, silicone jacketed, cable running inside of her. More than a little curious now, Dylan slipped two fingers into her sex, probing lightly at first, then diving to the third knuckle, looking to find what exactly she’d hidden up there. Forcing herself to relax a bit further, Julie spread her legs wide, resting her feet on the edge of the couch cushions on either side of Dylan’s knees. When she did this, he was finally able to locate the second vibrator, about the size of a golf ball, nestled at the bottom of her channel.  
“Mmnh... That one doesn’t really do - oooh - t-too much until late in the game, but when that time comes - aaaanh - does it shine.” With her demonstration finished, she gently pulled his hand out of her sex, set her already damp panties back in place, and resumed a more casual sitting position on his lap.

“That’s… That’s incredible, Julie. I can’t believe you made all this stuff! Now… I get the feeling that this little Christmas Present is going to come in handy in the future, but we do need to get going if we’re going to make our reservation.”

“Glad you remembered!” Julie exclaimed, that slightly manic look ghosting across her features. “You drive.”

As they headed out to brunch, Dylan couldn’t help but ask a bit more about Julie’s handiwork. He found out that the data link for the system ran over the internet, and that the two sides of the system maintained a handshake, initiated as soon the control box for her panties was turned on and paired to her phone. He also learned that the real magic in what she’d done, according to her, was to optimize the data transfer method to minimize bandwidth consumption while maintaining a continuous link. Julie had laughed like a mad scientist when she mentioned that she’d taken his motto of ‘over-capacitize all the things’ to heart. With the battery pack she’d put together it could literally run for days at full tilt. At present she had hooked the control box to her skirt in the small of her back, but it could be taken off and worn in a pocket if she had regular pants on.

Julie had great fun explaining that the patterns included a ramp from zero to peak amplitude, a slow intermittent, a fast intermittent, and a ‘heartbeat’ function. She’d also taken great joy in explaining that the entirety of the assembly she wore was waterproof - an important feature considering some of the uses Julie had proposed... and her current state of arousal.

“Hey Jules, this is great! Just think, now we can do stuff together, even on the nights when neither of us can make it to each other’s apartment.”

“Mhmm…” she replied “And… aaaahhh *shudder*… and we can have some fun in places we normally couldn’t.” Dylan was playing around with the various settings and controls, and drawing all sorts of interesting noises out of Julie.

“I think you might have lost me. What kind of places are you talking about, exactly?” he asked incredulously.

“W-Well… I- I was thinking that uhhhhhhaaaaah we could- We could give it a try at Brunch. That…. Uhh-huummm that’s why I’m wearing them n-aaaaahhhh, that’s why I’m wearing them Nowww.” Dylan was quickly getting the hang of timing his inputs to best mess with Julie’s speech. For the most part, he’d set the right channel to roll into and out of a healthy baseline thrum, while playing with the left one directly for effect.

“You sure you want to play that game?” he asked, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. “I mean, if that’s what you want, I’m okay with it, but... you’re sure that /you’re/ okay with it? That it won’t be too intimidating?” He turned off both vibrators for emphasis.

“Yeah. I uhh… I kinda like the idea of being put on the spot like that. Being in a situation I can’t control… not able to get away… Someone else holding the reigns. Besides, I trust you. I… I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. You wouldn’t ruin it for me...” The weight of her confession hit him like a ton of bricks, pressing the air out of his chest and wedging his response in the back of his throat.

“Thank you, Juliana. That really, truly, means a lot.” he responded after a long pause, his voice quiet and strained. “Just one thing… you’re right that I don’t want to see you hurt, and I mean that. Physically or otherwise. If you feel like things are getting to be too much, just say ‘Fresh Linens’. I’ll stop what I’m doing immediately. We can find somewhere private to talk as soon and as discreetly as possible. ...Decide next steps from there. What’s the safeword - err - safe phrase again?”

“Fresh Linens?” she responded, bending the last word like she was asking a question. “...why Fresh Linens?”

“Oh, simple! It’s distinct, innocuous, easy to remember, and it shouldn’t come up in normal conversation.”

“That makes sense. Anything else?”

“Hmm… now that you mention it, I suppose I do have one more thing.” Dylan thought back to some of the things he saw on her browser tabs “I don’t want you to cum while we’re in the restaurant. If you behave yourself, I’ll reward you on the ride to the party.” With this, he turned both vibrators back on again, pulsing gently against - and inside - Julie.

*Aaauuhhh* “Y-yes Sir.” Dylan felt more than a little silly making a request like that, but if that's what she was into, he wouldn't begrudge her a little role play.

When they arrived at the country club banquet hall on the edge of town, Dylan was massively relieved to see that while the Host was a rather imposing mountain lion, the waitress for their section was a short brunette human girl. When he’d stepped out of the car, he’d become painfully aware how much the smell of Julie’s arousal had permeated the cabin. While he was sure that the bigger space of the restaurant would help dissipate her scent, he was still worried that every anthro in a twenty foot radius would know something was up. He had to imagine it was on Julie’s mind as well.

True to his promise, Dylan did everything he could to maintain the appearance of a normal, boring couple for Julie, while doing everything he could to keep her squirming. He maintained a mild but persistent onslaught of varied intensities and patterns, doing his best to break her concentration while she perused the - admittedly short - menu. Whenever she tried to talk, or looked like she was nearing the edge, he’d back things off, letting her keep her dignity and her promise not to tip over the brink. The din of the surrounding diners, something he normally dismissed as white noise, was doing a wonderful job of muffling the hum of their new toy as well as the occasional squeak or moan that escaped from his adorably squirmy ‘yote.

While Julie and Dylan were enjoying their time spent waiting for their waitress, Dylan was starting to get impatient. So when he spotted the waitress finally walking towards them, he made a point of locking eyes with her. Once eye contact was established, he put on a warm smile and waved her over. While he did this with his left hand, his right was slowly inching both sliders towards their maximum settings. As she stopped at the table, Dylan took his hand away from the phone, leaving both vibrators maxed out. Julie was twitching in her seat, gripping the table hard with both hands. She wore a neutral expression, but anything more than a cursory look betrayed just how hard she was fighting to maintain her composure.  
“Hi, and welcome to the Clubhouse! My name is Jennifer, and I’ll be serving you today!” She glanced from Dylan to Julie, then back at Dylan. “Can I start you off with anything to drink?”

As she finished her greeting, Dylan casually tapped his phone, hitting the buttons below both sliders before it could go into sleep mode. The sigh of relief from Julie was loud enough that Jennifer actually stopped to glance back at her. Noticing the sudden attention, Julie froze like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Hi, Uh, Jen was it?” Dylan asked, pulling the attention away from his date. “Could I get an orange juice and a coffee? Cream on the side, please.” Glancing away from the waitress for a moment, he checked to make sure that Julie had been able to compose herself. “How about you, love? You know what you’d like?”

“I… uhh… I’ll h-have the same.” she quickly stammered, looking up at their waitress and trying /just/ a little too hard to maintain eye contact.

“Oookay?” Jen said, her cheery facade slipping for just a moment. “Two coffees, two orange juices. Coming right up!” As she turned to walk away, Dylan called to her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Oh! Hey Jen! I think I might be ready to order, here. Save you the extra trip?” Dylan glanced back over at Julie to see if she was on the same page. She stared at him saucer eyed, clearly not having actually read through the menu while he had been pressing her buttons.  
“Oh, shoot. My apologies Julie!” He gave her a legitimately sympathetic look. “Sorry Jen, I think I might have spoken too soon…”

“No… No. That’s alright. I’ll pick something here. Umm.. Could you go first, though?”

“Sure thing. Again. Sorry, love.” Dylan turned back to their waitress before glancing back down at his menu. “I think I’ll have the prime rib special with the potatoes Fondant au Jacques and the horseradish cream sauce.”

“Just so you’re aware, you’ll need to walk up to the chef at the carving table for that order. Is that alright? You /can/ make multiple trips if you like!” Jennifer added, cheerily.

“That’s more than fine. Care to join me up at the front of the hall, Jules?”

“I ...uh. Sure. That sounds good! I’ll get the prime rib as well.”

“Perfect! I’ll get these drinks orders to your table right away. Please feel free to pick up your food whenever you’re ready.” With that she walked off, stopping at one or two more tables before disappearing back into the kitchen. 

“Hey, Jules. You doing alright over there?” He asked, his tone carrying concern and mischief in equal measure. “You sure you still want to play? I’m not going too hard on you, am I?”

“I don’t - I mean… Yeah. Let’s keep going.”

“No. Seriously, though… Are you sure you’re okay with this? That didn’t sound very confident…”

“Yeah! I mean, Uh… Yeah. It’s just that this is all, like, really intense, you know?”

“I won’t argue with you there. I hate to say it, but this is all a bit out of my comfort zone. Then again, you did sort of make it sound like that was the point back when we were in the car.”

“Yeah… I guess I kinda did.”

“Tell you what, lets get some food and we can decide where to go from there.” With that, Dylan got up out of his seat, slipped his phone into his pants pocket, and walked around the table to help Julie out of hers.

“Okay, sounds good.” She smiled up at him, as he pulled her chair back.

“You remember the phrase?”

“Yup!” As she stood up, he lent her his right arm. As soon as she had looped her left arm through his, she was almost knocked over by the sudden onslaught of both vibrators snapping to life, pulsing away at their highest setting. 

“Good to hear!” He gave her a wan smile as he guided her through the tables. He helped her keep her balance, but kept the pressure on with his remote. As they walked, he only kept a slight eye on her, as the tight aisles of the crowded restaurant required his attention. Instead, he tried gauging her state by her voice and breathing, easing off when her breaths got shallow and gasping or when her sense of balance seemed to slip. Arriving as late as they did, they had missed the lull between breakfast and lunch and found themselves in the back of a frustratingly long line. While they waited to get to the serving table, Dylan gently shifted Julie in front of him. He slipped his right arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She leaned back into him for support, lacing the fingers of her right hand into his and gently stroking his upper arm with her left. Each time he turned up the vibrations she tightened her grip on him, trying hard to stifle the little moans starting to escape from the back of her throat. Each time they started to become audible, he’d back off almost to nothing, giving Julie a moment to get back under control.

By the fourth time he brought her to the brink, they had plates in hand, and were being served their potatoes. Reluctantly, Dylan let Julie go, needing to hold his plate and wanting to keep a hand free should she need to stop the music, so to speak. Julie, while trying desperately not to show it, was just barely keeping it together, focusing hard on anything but what was happening in her panties. She was absolutely terrified, glancing frantically at the people around her, checking to see who might suspect what was going on, and who just /had/ to know. The absolute last thing she expected was for Dylan to step behind her, lean into her ear and whisper,  
“My God, you’re so gorgeous. I want to carry you out of here right now, find a quiet spot, and fuck you until your legs give out.” Just like that, he had kicked down the mental barrier keeping the floodwaters at bay. Sharp contractions started in her core, radiating out to her arms and legs. Julie’s legs snapped together, pinching the bullet harder against her, and making the sensations that much more intense. She doubled over, almost dropping her plate. In a desperate bid to avoid making a scene, she handed it to Dylan, who was just getting ready to ask for his slice of prime rib.

He took her plate without really thinking about it, his hands now full. As he caught the look in her eyes, however, his stomach dropped, his carefree expression falling with it. The fear and shame he saw on her face washed over him like an ice-bath, telling him everything he needed to know before she even spoke.

“I- *anh* I... *hnnngh* fesh- *aaah* fresh linens!” She squeaked between ill-stifled moans. Before he had a chance to react, she stumbled out of line and away from the banquet room. Dylan froze for a minute, unable to figure out how best to get to the off switch with both hands full. Collecting himself as best he could, he wheeled back around to the sous chef, trying desperately to project an air of calm and confidence he didn’t remotely feel.  
“Sorry about that. She’s not feeling well. Still, if you could cut one for me and one for her- ” he handed the confused chef one of the plates, “- it’d be much appreciated.” While the chef was looking for a place to set the plate down so he could shift a serving onto it, Dylan dove for his phone with his now free hand. He took two tries at the lock, swiping too early the first time and having to do it over again. As soon as it was up, he killed both channels, breathing a short sigh of relief. Moments later, the ‘on air’ indicator went out, shortly followed by a reappearance of the cartoon coyote, this time turning away from him and pouting. “User has disconnected you from PavLove” scrolled across the screen below it. 

Dylan dropped his phone into his pocket, his heart sinking alongside it. Fighting to maintain his feigned composure, he got his cut of beef, her plate, and their sides of horseradish before striding back to their table. He was worried, it not surprised, when he failed to find Julie back at her seat. Setting their food down, he grabbed his glass of orange juice and downed it in a single gulp to try and calm his nerves. Slapping the glass back on the table, he set off to look for her. 

Dylan slipped through the rows of tables, listening in on conversations as he passed and trying desperately to catch some hint as to where - exactly - Julie might have run off to. As He walked, he forced his posture upright and tried desperately to conjure an easy smile. While he was certain that anyone and everyone could see through the act, it helped to keep him from acting panicky and making more of a scene than he and Julie already had. ...it also helped make his eavesdropping less obvious. Fortunately or unfortunately, Julie’s departure was less of a disruption than he’d feared. While he hoped this meant their play had gone unnoticed, it also meant that he was unable to get a read on where she’d gone.

As he neared the exit to the hall, Dylan spotted Jennifer passing out plates at another one of her tables. Heading her way, he caught up just as she was folding up her tray stand and turning for the kitchen.  
“Hey Jen, you have a second here?”

“Oh, hi! Umm… is there something wrong with your order?” She asked, clearly a bit uncomfortable with a customer running her down.

“Oh, no. Nothing like that! The food is great. I just need to step away for a moment, but I’ll be back. ...just want to make sure the table doesn’t get cleared in the meantime.”

“Sir? What about your date? Isn’t she still at your table?”

“So… funny thing, that. I might have said something foolish. Long story, but also why I’ll be away from the table. Again, I’ll just be gone for a moment.” She gave Dylan a bit of a scowl, clearly making assumptions about what he might have told Julie. He took it in stride, preferring that she think less of him than of her.

“I’ll make sure the staff knows not to clear it.” with that, Jen turned and walked off, putting a bit of edge into her movements.

With no other leads to work with, Dylan headed towards the host booth at the front of the hall. Standing at the booth, arms crossed over his chest, was the massive Mountain Lion who had originally seated them. His posture seemed to radiate irritation, so Dylan greeted him in as friendly a manner as possible.  
“Excuse me, sir. I hate to bother you, but you didn’t happen to see a young lady come this way, did you? Short little coyote? Green Sweater?”

“Yeah, she came through here.” He replied, his irritation evident. “She almost knocked over poor Mrs McDermot. Running in a restaurant like a pup… feh!”

“Hey, Sorry about that. You wouldn’t happen to see where she went, would you?” 

“She took off towards the pro shop. You know they’re closed today, right? The patio as well.”

“Thanks for the heads up?” Now it was Dylan’s turn to frown as he stood there, uncertain what the Maitre D was getting at.

“Well… Whatever little ‘tiff’ you two are having, make sure you remember to settle your bill. I /do/ have your names, you know.” The lion tapped a clawed finger heavily on the reservation book. A wave of anger washed over Dylan as the man looked down at him with a stony expression. He was no thief, and the implication stuck in his craw. Before he could act on it, though, the memory of the panicked expression on Julie’s face crushed his budding rage. 

“Duly noted.”, Dylan responded, trying to maintain a measured tone. He spun on his heel, turning right at the hallway and deeper into the building. The crowds thinned quickly, with most of those walking around waiting for a table to clear. He didn’t talk to anyone, instead electing to listen like he had back in the main hall. He casually checked any of the doors that might lead somewhere private, apologizing and acting lost when one of the couples there had stopped to watch him. Eventually, he made it to the back of the clubhouse where the pro-shop and members facilities were located. Strolling into the shop, he could hear another couple having a heated argument in the far right corner near the counter. Hearing them reinvigorated Dylan’s search. After all, if they felt this was private enough for an argument, there was a good chance Julie had come this way. He did a quick scan of the shop, noticing a sign on the opposite wall for the club changing rooms. Heart in his throat, It took everything he had not to break into a dead sprint, as he crept behind the racks full of overpriced polo shirts in loud colors.

Avoiding the lone couple talking in the clubhouse, Dylan made for the changing rooms. Before he could even open the door, he could hear racked sobs leaking through. Checking one more time to make sure that the couple was looking away, he slipped through the women’s door, closing it as gently as he possibly could, and locking it behind him.  
“Stupid - *Sniff* - So stupid…” heard her before he saw her, muttering to herself. Peeking around the corner, he spied Julie curled into a little ball, sitting on one of the wood-slat benches. In the middle of a locker lined alcove. She had her chin resting on her knees, and was slowly - shakily - rocking back and forth, no doubt trying to comfort herself. The franken-vibe she had worked so hard to put together sat splayed at the foot of a bank of lockers, its case popped open and guts exposed to the world.

“Hey Jules… You feeling alright?” Dylan knew it was a stupid question before he even asked it, but he had no idea where to even start with his distraught coyote girlfriend.

*YIP!* “Dylan?! You aren’t supposed to be here! T-t-this is the g-girl’s room! Y-you’ll get in trouble!” Her head snapped back to look at him, but she kept her arms wrapped tight around her legs.

“Nonsense. I locked the door behind me, and it’s Christmas day. Nobody is going to be coming in here, and if they want to? Well… That’s too bad.” He waved vaguely at the deadbolt and shrugged. “Like I said, I locked the door behind me. Is it alright if I sit with you for a bit? We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t shy away when he sat behind her, either. They let a long moment pass, him awkwardly shuffling a bit and her trying desperately to steady her ragged breathing. “Jules… I just want to say I’m sorry an-”

“No... it’s my fault…” She took a ragged breath as she tried and failed to compose herself. “I-I just… I just wanted to do something new. ...I wanted to be brave, and here I am crying in the girls bathroom all over again.”

“Hey, hey… This isn’t on you. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard.” He scooched back so he could throw a leg over the bench, straddling it. “I knew you were getting close, and… well… I guess I kinda got into it. Watching you squirm around.. Listening for the occasional little moan… seeing the fear and excitement in your eyes was - well… It was really /really/ hot.” Julie shuddered, pulling her legs tighter against her chest and hugging her knees with her chin. She wept openly, tears running down through her fur, onto her skirt.

“I- *Sniff* That’s why I didn’t say anything…” She let go of a shin for a moment to wipe a palm over an eye and down her cheek. “I wanted you to… to like it. I was scared you might not want- ...might not do something like this again.” Dylan slid himself forward again until he was juuuust behind Julie. Slowly, carefully, he slipped his hands around her waist to where her legs were pulled tight against her front. Ever so gently, he squeezed her sides and pulled her torso back. She resisted his advances, tensing and hugging her legs even tighter. Squinting her eyes closed tight, she let out a pitiful little whimper.

“Jules… Please?” She held out for a moment longer, before relaxing her grip, letting Dylan coax her back a bit. As she relented, he slipped his arms around her waist, careful to keep his hands from straying too low or too high. Gently but firmly, he pulled her back against him. He hooked his chin over her left shoulder, taking a deep breath and exhaling a long sigh. Julie took a racked breath, wiping her other eye and cheek, but didn’t say anything. “Easy, now... It’s all alright. Everything is going to be okay.” He hugged her tighter, and started ever so slowly rocking her left to right. “It’s okay. We’re okay.” He repeated it like a mantra, 

“Oh God, Dylan… what do we do? E-Everyone saw what happened. Everyone knows…”

*Hehehe…* Dylan let out a pained little bark of a laugh, causing Julie to go stiff again, her hackles standing on end. “Yeah… they /do/ know… they know I said something that made you leave. ...I don’t think anyone will ask you anything or say anything to you, though I’m sure I’ll get some static. I don’t think our waitress is exactly thrilled with me.”

“Wait, why?!”

“Because that’s what I told her…”

“Why would you do that?!” She spun in his arms, staring at him, her face twisted into a worried glare.

“...because you shouldn’t have to pay for my mistakes. I shouldn’t have pushed so hard… I should have been paying better attention. This one’s on me.” Her stare melted away in stages until she broke eye contact. She threw her arms around him, hugging him hard. Her tears started streaming anew. “As to what we’re gonna do? Well… I need to settle the tab one way or another, and we should probably try to get our meals. We still need to eat, after all. If you want, I’ll have them box it all up and we can leave. Head straight back to the apartment. You can even wait for me in the car, if you want. Then again, I kinda think we should go back and finish brunch here.”

“Why? I can’t face those people again!”

“Kinda why I’m asking… Julie, you’re so much more confident than when we first met, and I don’t think I could bear it if I ruined that for you. If this beats us…” Alarms blared in Dylan’s head, screaming internally that he’d said something profoundly stupid. 

“I… Okay, let’s go.” She could feel the sigh of relief rumbling out of Dylan against her back, his band tight arms relaxing at her response. She went to stand up, and head to the mirror, but Dylan held her fast. “Hey, let me-”

“Julie, hang on a moment. That didn’t come out right.” He leaned into her, tilting his head and resting it against hers. “I… I love you… Whatever we do here, that’s not going to change. ...I don’t want you to feel like you have to prove yourself to me.”

“Do you really mean it?” she sat back into his arms a bit, looking down at her lap. 

“Every word. Leave or stay, I just want you to be happy.”

*Sniff* “Well, then. I… I guess we should get going.”

“Sounds good. Here, take the keys. Just let me go-”

“We- we wouldn’t want them clearing our table before we get back.” She tried to muster some conviction in her voice, but he could feel her shaking. He hugged her tightly once more, kissing the top of her head.

“I’m proud of you, Jules. Remember, we can leave anytime. Just say the word, and I’ll settle the tab while you head to the car.” Julie tried to stand up again, with Dylan letting her go this time around. While she went over to the row of sinks to put get herself put back together, he watched her go. When she passed out of sight, he glanced back at the mess of electronics lying at the base of the lockers.  
[How much time did she have to have put into that thing?! How long had she thought about a situation like today? Fuck… can’t let it end like /this/.] He rocked forward onto his feet, sneaking over and quietly scooping up the remains. A quick glance showed a couple of pulled wires and a cracked case, but surprisingly, the main components looked undamaged. ...it didn’t hurt that she’d foam mounted everything and potted the board. Still careful to keep quiet, he slipped the pieces into his coat pocket then headed over to check on Julie.

When they came out of the changing room, he was happy to see that the arguing couple had gone, leaving the shop thankfully deserted. He quickly ushered her out of the pro shop, one arm around her back, until they made it back to the relative cover of the hallway. Once there, he let go, instead offering her his left arm. As they got closer to the restaurant, Julie’s pace grew slower and slower, and she leaned ever further against Dylan, clearly getting nervous.  
“What’s up, pup?” 

“Oh - uhm - it’s nothing.”

“Not sure what to do when we get back into the restaurant?”

“Well… maybe a little.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just roll for persuasion.”

“Not funny.”

“That’s the spirit! Seriously, just think of it like roleplay. I said something bad, and you’re mad at me. Folks look at you funny, it’s because they want to know what made you walk out. I’m the one who has to play the scolded partner. You’ve got it easy!”

“Oh, my God, and you say I’m lame!” She actually laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

“No… I said you were a weeb.” He leaned away from the second blow sticking his tongue out at her when she missed. “There’s an important distinction there, though I can’t seem to remember why!” She laughed again, this time a little more freely.  
“Don’t forget, you’re supposed to be mad at me!” He said, slipping his hand into her hair and tousling it a bit.”

“Haha, okay fine - hehe - stop!”

“Okay, get your game face on. We need to get past Surly McWhiskers, here.” As they turned around the corner, Dylan took a bit of a stutter step, letting Julie put about a pace and a half in front of him. He put on a bit of an apologetic expression, and followed after her.

Noticing the couple, the Maitre D put on the most obviously false smile Dylan had ever seen.  
“Ah, I see you’ve managed to find your way back to the restaurant. What a pleasant surprise.” No longer worried about Julie, his ire flared back to life.

“Wouldn’t want to give you the pleasure. ...Don’t you have a table to bus?” The Lion glared at him but didn’t say anything else. Petty argument concluded, Dylan hurried to catch up with his now openly pouting ‘Yote. By the time he had gotten to the table, Julie had seated herself and started in on her food without him. He seated himself as well, getting a quick glance at Julie, while pretending to be looking elsewhere. He figured it’s what someone who’d been recently chastised would do. To her credit, she was playing her role to a ‘t’, maintaining just a little too upright of a posture, her movements carrying a deliberate edge.

The two ate in silence, in part trying to maintain appearances and in part legitimately trying to get out of their awkward predicament as quickly as possible. While they sat, he typed away on his phone, apparently having a conversation with someone else. Within minutes of them sitting back down, Jennifer came by with a steaming carafe.  
“Hi there, can I get you some more coffee?” she asked Julie, her voice just a bit too saccharine.

“Yes. Please!” Julie responded, /just/ too cheerily and with a strained smile.

“Are you alright sweetie?” Jennifer asked.

“Oh, I’m fine.” Coffee poured, Jen turned to leave.

“Umm, excuse me, could I get some more coffee as well?” Dylan asked, before she could get too far.

“Sure.” She quickly topped off his cup before wheeling around and stalking off.

“See what I mean? You’re in the clear. Nice work, by the way.” He said in a flat, measured, tone.

“I suppose.” Julie said icily. She did, however, look him in the eye for a moment and wink, calming the worry that had momentarily flared in the pit of his stomach. They finished the rest of their meal in silence, which dylan figured was probably in line with their cover story. When they were wrapping up, Jennifer swung by again to ask Julie if she needed anything else.

“Just the check, please.” Dylan responded. The waitress looked at him, Glowering, then turned back to Julie. When she declined, the waitress went on her way. Not two minutes later, Jen returned with the check in one hand, and a hearty piece of cake in the other.

“Here you are, darling. On the house.” Jen set the cake down in front of Julie.  
“It’s chocolate peppermint!” She then set the bill down in front of Dylan before stalking off again.

“Told you.” he mumbled, checking that no one was looking before giving Julie a quick, warm, smile. She smiled back, her eyes finally starting to show some of the confidence she’d had earlier in the day. She still ate her cake quickly, and he chose to pay in cash, leaving a nominal tip and avoiding the wait for Jennier to run his card. As they left, they kept up the act, with her getting up before him, and him following lamely behind. Once they hit the parking lot, though, it was like someone had flipped a switch.

As Dylan made it down the steps to the sidewalk, Julie turned and jumped at him, giving him a huge hug.  
“Thank for talking me into staying. It was sooo nice to see that things were alright. Oh… and thank you for covering for me. I don’t think I could stand having someone look at me like that waitress looked at you.”

“Hey, I’m just happy to see you back to your old self again.” he responded, hugging her back, then taking her hand as they walked to the car. “What say we head back to your place, curl up on the couch, and catch a movie marathon until we fall asleep?”

“Don’t we still need to go to your parents?”

“Don’t worry about it. I was messaging my mom back in the restaurant. Told them that we were feeling under the weather. I might have mentioned a certain lack of sleep. ...something about a school project keeping you up all night…” He gave her an eyebrow waggle that would have made Groucho cringe, as he pulled the door open for her, then helped her inside. She laughed, so he considered it a win.  
“So… Couch? Snuggles? Sleep?”

“Well, fine... but only because you asked nicely.”

The two drove back to Julie’s apartment at a leisurely pace, enjoying the comfortable silence. The moment the door clicked shut at Julie’s apartment, she yanked off her sweater and dress shirt, stumbling back into her room. She came out seconds later in a ratty school t-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. While she was getting changed, Dylan made a lap around the apartment, pulling the curtains closed to drown out the bright winter sun. As he made his way past the desk, he threw his jacket over the back of her office chair and pulled the big wool blanket from its spot on her bookshelf. Popping the second button on his shirt, he strolled back to the couch, sitting heavily against the arm rest and throwing the blanket up over the back. When julie came back and snuggled up against him, he pulled the blanket over both of them and flipped on the TV. Unsurprisingly, with it being Christmas, they were playing everyone’s favorite Christmas series, with Julie and Dylan tuning into the first movie at the scene where the cop car gets shot up. They sat comfortably for a while, watching the action scenes play out and enjoying the warm and cozy closeness.

During one of the many commercial breaks, Julie looked up at Dylan, a slight frown on her face.  
“Hey… um… I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you back in the car…”

“Look, I thought we went over this… It’s fine. I get it. You wanted to try something adventurous and we - /we/ - went for it. Nobody got hurt, and we didn’t get in trouble.” He gave her a weak smile, hugging her a bit tighter before kissing her on the head.

“No… no. It’s not that. You, um, asked me not to cum and I ...disobeyed.”

“Uhh… what?” He looked at her more than a little confused.

“Are you going to, er… punish me?” She looked up at him again, her eyebrows raised

“I think you’ve been punished plenty already today... Why would I want to punish you?! Let’s just relax and get some rest, okay?”

“Oh… okay.” She looked away, clearly a little disappointed, but snuggled in closer to him.

They continued to watch for a little bit longer, with julie’s exhaustion quickly catching up with her. Before the scene where top of the building exploded, she had passed out and was snoring. Not quite ready to fall asleep, himself, Dylan slipped out from under her, and snuck into her room. Stepping around the larger piles of clothes on the floor, he cleared a space on her bed, making sure that the top sheet and comforter were pulled well clear. Heading back into the living room, he slipped one arm under her shoulders and one under her thighs before carefully scooping her up in a bridal carry and taking her to bed.  
“Thanks…” she mumbled, nuzzling into the crook of his arm. He set her in her bed as gently as possible, tucking her in and kissing her once more on the head. He went back into the living room, picking up some of the garbage that was laying around and marshalling the various loose dishes back into the sink. He kept at it for about an hour, doing his best to make a dent in the mess she had left while trying to avoid making too much noise. With the place looking a little bit less like a pigsty, he decided to turn in as well, though he did take a quick detour to the bathroom to prepare for bed. When he made it back to the bedroom, Julie was deep asleep and snoring again. Chuckling to himself, he stripped down to his underwear and crawled in next to her.

Even without an alarm clock, Dylan woke up early. ...getting to bed at four in the afternoon tended to do that... Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, He figured he might as well leave to take care of some errands. He snagged his clothes from the night before, taking them out of the bedroom before putting them on, so he didn’t risk waking Julie turning on a light. As he threw his coat on to leave, he remembered the smashed vibrator sitting in his pocket. Setting it down on the desk in front of her monitor, he wrote a quick little note and stuck it under the battery pack.  
‘Jules,  
Thanks again for the wonderful gift. I still can’t believe you were able to put something like this together. Sorry things didn’t quite work out how you had imagined. Hopefully yesterday didn’t ruin trying new things for you. Just wanted to let you know that I’m still willing to give it another shot if you are, though maybe we can start with somewhere more private next time.  
Love you.’

Note placed, he took his leave, making sure to lock the door on the way out. He didn’t hear from Julie all day, and while he had plenty to keep him busy, he did worry a bit about how she was holding up. When dinner time had come and gone without hearing back, the worry grew into dread, driving him to reach out to her. He kept it to a text, hoping to keep from looking over-concerned.  
‘Hey, r u ok?’  
When he didn’t hear back for another half hour, his dread gave way to panic. He was in the process of pulling up her number to call, when he finally got a response.

‘Yup. Fine! Saw ur note. ...okay! ;P’  
Before he’d finished reading, another chime rang out and a little coyote icon popped up in the top bar of his screen. Half certain of what was happening, he pulled down the menu and clicked the icon. Once again his screen went black, with the little opening animation playing through. The app went to the control screen for the briefest of moments before the screen went to back to black again. This time, the animated head was happily licking the screen from inside the phone. Below the head, in the same small text as before, he spotted the message ‘J_Mitch has added you as PavLove connection.’ One again, the screen faded back to the controls, this time with the ‘on air’ lamp illuminated. Dylan pulled up messenger again, and fired off a quick message.  
‘B there in 20…. Leave door unlocked’ ...then he re-opened the PavLove app.

\--- 

The night before the next Christmas Eve, Dylan got dressed up in his best suit and drove over to Julie’s apartment to pick her up for a night on the town. It wasn’t a particularly long drive - he’d found a job and an apartment close to the university - but it still left plenty of time for unwanted questions to creep into his mind. [What happens to our relationship if I go through with this? What happens to us if I don’t? What if she hates it? What if she /REALLY/ likes it…]

Somewhere deep in his psyche, he’d hoped that the shenanigans from the previous Christmas had ruined her taste for dominance play, but if anything, it seemed like they had invigorated it. A couple of weeks after ‘the brunch incident’, he had swung by her place to visit, only to find her handcuffed to her headboard. Since she read that book - and the ones after it - Julie had made a point of joking about BDSM. Over the last few months, however, it had become painfully obvious that she wasn’t really joking. Up to now, Dylan had refused, and while she had been understanding to a point, it was starting to affect their love life. She hadn’t been withholding sex from him, or anything - something she had said she would never do - but it was getting pretty clear that her enthusiasm had started to wane. With Christmas coming up, and with her gift from last Christmas looming in the back of his mind, Dylan had finally caved.

Unhappy with the direction his thoughts were taking him, he flipped on the radio on and tuned in to the local college station.  
“ -nd we’ve got an odd one for you ooooooooon this Sunday night request block! It. Sounds Like someone’s looking to kick things all the way back to the Eighties! For your listening pleasure… iiiiiiiiiiiiiiits DEVO!” Knowing what was coming before the song even started, Dylan looked down at his radio like it had just insulted his mother. A simple synth riff, backed by clapping drew a sigh from him. “-Crack that whip!” He smacked the power button on the radio, electing to finish the drive in silence. “Fuckin’ hilarous…” He mumbled, glancing up through the roof of the car to glare at the big guy upstairs.

After driving for what felt like a medium eternity - about half an hour - Dylan reached Julie’s apartment complex and pulled into the lot in front of her building. Picking a spot as close to her door as possible, he pulled in, careful to leave plenty of room on the passenger side of the car.  
‘Here. B at ur door in a min’, he texted before getting out.

‘Srry not ready. Door open. Come inside ;P’ Figuring he had a couple of minutes before she was finished, Dylan walked straight into the kitchen, grabbed himself a cup of stale coffee, and plopped down on the couch. While he waited, he pulled up a couple of kink blogs on his phone. He figured he’d get some last minute refreshers on rope work, and review some role playing tips. Just as he started really getting into an article about sub psychology, a quiet *Ahem* pulled him from his reading.

“Do… Do I look okay?” Julie asked, as she shuffled timidly out of her bedroom. Standing at the far edge of the living room, Julie paused for a long moment before turning his way. She was holding her left forearm in her right hand. Her left hand, meanwhile, picked nervously at the hem of her little black dress. ...speaking of, Dylan actually dropped his phone when he saw her properly. Gone was the cute, if disheveled, girl he had fallen in love with back in school. In front of him stood the most gorgeous woman he’d ever laid eyes on. The first thing he noticed was her thick, horn rimmed glasses, or lack thereof. As long as he had known her, Julie had insisted on wearing glasses everywhere, claiming that they were more practical and complaining that contacts were terrible for looking at computer screens. With her contacts in, he had an unobstructed, undistorted, view into her gorgeous eyes. She met his gaze for the slightest of moments before breaking eye contact, instead looking down at her feet. In that moment, however, he was transfixed by those deep amber pools. 

As she looked away, she pulled her ears tight against the back of her head, as if bracing for a scolding. Following her ears to her hair, he could see that she’d recently had it bobbed like so many of her favorite anime characters, and she’d clearly worked hard to get it to sit just right. Both her hair and her fur had a sheen and softness that could only have come from a deep conditioning, something Dylan had never seen her do before. As with her contacts and her fur, the little black dress she wore was a new and welcome change. It showed off her meager assets wonderfully, the tight tailoring accentuating what curves she had. He swore the low back and deep cut cleavage looked more revealing than the casual nudity he’d grown accustomed to. A small gold necklace and bracelet completed the ensemble, set off by freshly trimmed and painted claws - more welcome changes he’d never before seen on Julie before. While it warmed his heart that she was trying so hard for him, it hurt to see that she felt so vulnerable. 

Without saying a word, he walked up to her, taking her shoulder in one hand, the other cradling her cheek. With his palm, he guided her face up to his, as he’d done so many times before. He waited, wearing his most comforting smile, until she looked up at him.  
“Jules, you look absolutely stunning… You didn't have to get this dressed up for me, but I'm glad you did… You're so beautiful.” As he said it, he could see the relief wash over her like a wave, obliterating the nervousness that had gripped her. For emphasis, he gave her a quick, chaiste, kiss, letting his hand wander from her cheek down to her other shoulder, his fingers dragging shallow furrows through her fur. Giving her one last quick squeeze, he smiled, pivoting left and offering her his arm. “Your carriage awaits, my lady. ...and we might need to get a move on. There’s no way this place is going to hold our table if we’re late.”

“That was almost suave. ...for a moment. Just let me get my clutch real quick.” Julie replied, her snark making a return appearance alongside her confidence.

“Wait, you’ve actually got a purse, now?! Next, you’re going to tell me that dress doesn’t have pockets!”

“Ha…” she responded, clearly unamused. 

“Just reveling in this new side of you, Jules.”

“I’m sure.”

“You’re still super cute in those dresses with pockets, by the way. This just happens to be next level.” As quick as she went into her room, Julie was back out, purse in hand. As with the rest of her outfit, he found this more ladylike change to be a pleasant surprise.

“Well said, there Cyrano.” She gave him an exasperated look.

“Ooh! Breaking out the high school lit references, are we? Still… says you about the long nose.” At this, Julie visibly tried to hide her goofy grin, still trying to stay mad at him.  
“...I love your gorgeous snoot, by the way.” As she passed him on the way to the door, he stepped in front of her, rubbing noses for a moment before offering her his arm like he did the Christmas before.  
“What say we pretend to be grown ups this time around? Just have a nice dinner like regular people?”

“I have no idea what you’re implying” she gasped, feigning dismay, but taking his arm all the same.

“Leave the toys at home tonight? Please? Let’s just let dinner be dinner. ...you’re not wearing any on you now, are you?”

“No.” Julie dropped the act, her concern taking on a bit of an edge. “ ...seriously, what’s with you tonight?” 

“Nothing, I’m just thinking tonight should be plenty special without any ‘extra help’.”

“Well, okay. I suppose… Still, I wish you wouldn’t assume. What does that say about me?!” she asked, slipping her arm out from his and turning towards him.

“That my lovely girlfriend has a sense of adventure.” he replied, sincerely. “That said, I’d like to just relax this evening. …through dinner, at least.”

“Okay, okay. Point taken. Still… You asked earlier tonight. Wasn’t that enough?”

"I did, indeed, but you've been known to disobey my requests before... I never did discipline you for last Christmas, did I?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“So… what are we doing tonight that’s so special?” her tone asking about more than just dinner plans.

“It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you, now would it? Trust me, you’re going to love it!”

“Trust /you/ like you’re trusting /me/ here?”

"I'll accept cautiously optimistic." he said with a wink, again offering his arm.

"Hmph, /fine/..." Julie shot back, mostly for dramatic effect. She locked her door before slipping her arm back into his. He walked her to the car, opened the door for her, and helped her into her seat.

Looking to get away from the unexpectedly prickly subject of public play, Dylan asked Julie about her senior project. Her mood changing immediately, she went on about how she was working with a team to develop a genetic learning algorithm to teach game AI to adapt behavior based on player strategies. She quickly got more technical than Dylan could follow, but he was happy to let her ramble, content in a domain she had mastery over. As they chatted, Dylan wound his way through the swank neighborhood twenty minutes southeast of the university. As the restaurant came into view, Julie's eyes lit up, but she remained quiet. There were, after all, dozens of eateries in the neighborhood. As he pulled up to the front door, however, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“No Way! SPATCHCOCK’S?! You did not!” she practically squeaked, looking as though she was ready to leap out of her seat.

“Well… you’d mentioned a few months back that you’d always wanted to go. You know… ‘Just to see if they could really cook small game as well as your mom’.”

“Are you kidding?! I was just joking about all that! All the reviews say this place has the best food in the state right now, maybe the nation! ...It also has a reservation list a mile long. How’d you manage to get a table?!”

“Like I said, you’d talked about it a couple of months back. It sounded like something you had your heart set on, and this /is/ the season for making wishes come true.”

“Wait… isn’t this place - like - /SUPER/ expensive?!” Juile asked. Her excitement seemed to falter.

“Julianna.” Dylan replied in a stern voice, clearly unamused “I do /NOT/ want you worrying about silly things like that, especially tonight. Don’t forget, I have a real job now and can indulge the occasional treat... I just want you to enjoy yourself tonight. Live in the moment.” After a moment’s consideration, he added - in a much lighter tone - “Besides, this isn’t the kind of place where they put prices on the menu. Everything costs ‘don’t worry about it’.”

“Okaaaaay… If you say so. Just don’t be surprised if I hold you to that.”

“Oh, I’ll have you do more than just hold me… Just don’t eat ‘till you’re uncomfortable. I wouldn’t want you feeling gross tonight.” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Now… Let’s head inside. I’ll get your door for you.” True to his word, Dylan got out of the car, walked immediately to the passenger side, and helped Julie out of her seat. Swallowing his misgivings, he casually tossed his car keys to the valet.  
“Don’t have /too/ much fun!" he told the man jovially, not breaking stride.

Dylan led Julie through the massive stone facade and into the surprisingly small entryway. Inside, the restaurant screamed neo-rustic, with dark walls, distressed hardwood flooring, exposed rafters, lashings of bright accent paint, and carefully curated wall art. It gave Spatchcocks the ‘different but familiar’ vibe common to seemingly every trendy new restaurant. Eddison lights in wire frame fixtures cast a warm glow above the uncovered tables, while indirect lighting around the walls kept the place pleasantly bright. Quiet conversations from various tables floated through the air, muffled just enough for privacy by contemporary lo-fi instrumental music playing in the background. To Julie, it was - in a word - perfect.

Still arm in arm with Julie, Dylan walked up to the servers’ desk, confirmed their reservation - which they arrived /almost/ on time for - and was helping Julie to her seat within a minute flat. As the hostess turned to walk away, Dylan snatched up the hardwood clipboard holding the drinks list.  
“Hey, what say we get a bottle of wine to go with dinner?” he asked, almost too excitedly.

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” She responded, her face lighting up. A short pause later, however, her excitement turned to confusion, one ear cocked to the side. “...what kind do we get?”

“Ummm… I dunno. I’m more of a beer or whiskey kinda guy. Do you have type you like?”

“Do ‘sweet’ and or ‘box’ count as a type?” She quipped, half jokingly. It was becoming painfully clear, however, that both of them were out of their element. Before the conversation could degenerate any further, however, a slender man, dressed in black, with a grey waistcoat strolled up to their table.  
“Welcome to Spatchcock’s! Can I start you two off with anything to drink?!” He said in an effete voice, gesticulating with his hands. 

“Well, we’re thinking about getting a bottle of wine. Do you have any recommendations?” Dylan replied, trying to play it off like a question asked out of courtesy.

“Well, that depends… do you know what you two will be having to eat tonight?”

“Umm? we don’t... This is our first time here, and we’re not familiar with any of the wines on this list.”

“...not familiar with Hahn Estate? Beringer?! Well then… do you two have any kind of wine you like in particular?” Dylan just sort of shrugged a bit.

“Nothing too dry, please.” Julie offered.

"Okay, sweetie, I can work with that… Let's see, now. Almost every dish we have on offer tonight is going to be super rich, and will probably favor savory over sweet. You're going to want something with some acid to cut through it. White wines in general, and Moscato in particular are definitely out." Julie's face darkened somewhat, the little knowledge she had about wines made redundant.  
"Oh, chin up, there, sweet heart! We just so happen to carry a great selection of local Pinot Noirs. They're still have nice fruit notes, but with a great acid finish that will go great with most anything you'd order. We currently have a by the glass special on a Williams Selyem that I'll start you off with. If you like that, we can go from there! Would you like me to bring those right away, or wait until the first course?"

"Umm…" Dylan and Julie said in unison.

"Don’t worry. I'll bring those with the first course." he said, with a wave of his hand.

"Thanks." Dylan said  
“Thank you” Julie said in unison.

"Now then…. Glad we've got that out of the way! How about I give you your menus and a minute to look over them. I'll be back with some water." Their waiter slipped each of them a menu, a tall single sheet of fully embossed linen paper. With that, he sashayed back into the kitchen. As he left, both Dylan and Julie studied their menus in earnest, hoping to avoid another incident like what happened with the wine list.

"See any appetizers you like, Jules?"

"Hmm… I'm torn between the… frog and mushroom frito misto(?) and the squirrel wontons.”

“Nice, I was looking at the wontons as well. ...what say we just get both to share. You have a salad you’re interested in?”

“Wait, are we doing 4 courses or 5 courses tonight? ...did you read the top-line of the menu?”

“Leave it to the programmer to actually read the declarations page… I dunno, do you want a soup? Salad? Both? Neither?"

"I think I'm good with just the soup. That Dove Escarole sounds amazing. You?”

“Four courses is fine with me. I think I might try the Goat Cream Vichyssoise, though. That name is just too silly not to. What’re you thinking for a main course?”

“Oh, that’s easy! They’ve got a curried rabbit stew that sounds absolutely spectacular. I don’t know where else you’re even going to find something like that!”

“That does sound great, but I think I’m going to have to go with the restaurant namesake. They’ve got a quail with sauteed sprouts, shallots and pan-chetta, all with what I /assume/ is some kind of creamed wine sauce(?)”

“Oh, come on, Dylan, where’s your sense of adventure?! You don’t come to a place like this to order something that you know all the ingredients in. Look at mine! I have no idea what ...makhuea… even is!”

“So are you telling me you’ve spatchcocked a game hen?”

“Umm… no?”

“Well I rest my case, then!” he laughed, sticking his tongue out at her for a change. As if on cue, the waiter returned with water glasses and a flip-top bottle. Thin slices of lemon and cucumber floated lazily as the water settled from the walk.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m not interrupting you two, am I?” he asked genuinely, as he poured their waters.

“Nope, you’re good.” Julie replied, reveling in Dylan’s embarrassment. “The /gentleman/ and I were just discussing what we’d like to order.”

“Oh, that’s more than fine. Should I maybe give you two a minute?”

“Oh, no. No need. We’re ready to order, I think.” she said, not even glancing back at Dylan. “Though if you could go first…?”

“Oh, sure! Put me on the spot, why don’t you?!” He said with a grin. They ordered their meals without any further drama, and their waiter went on his way. Almost as fast as he left, he was back with their soups, their wine, and a promise to return as soon as the appetizers were ready. As he was walking away Julie, picked up her wine glass to sample its dark purple contents.

“Hold on, now! We can’t just start drinking without some kind of a toast.” Dylan blurted, holding is glass out towards Julie.

“Oh… uhh, sorry. I don’t really know how all of this is supposed to work.” her ears drooped, as she grew visibly self conscious.

“Hey, neither do I! Admittedly, this just felt like the right way to start things off.” He paused for a moment, waiting for her to look back at him. When she did, he gave her a sheepish smile, letting her know that he was as lost as she was. “...anyway, how about ‘To expanded horizons and new experiences’?”

“I like that” she replied, her confidence returning a bit. They clinked glasses together and each took a hearty sip of their drinks. “Okay, wow. I should have tried something like this earlier!”

“The dude certainly wasn’t wrong” he replied in assent. “Though they don’t exactly put much in one of these glasses.” he looked disapprovingly at the diminished level in his.

After their slightly awkward toast, Dylan and Julie sipped away at their soups, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. As their first course was wrapping up, Julie stopped for a second, as if to collect her thoughts.

“Hey, I’ve got a surprise for you!” she practically squealed, beaming. “I got a job!”

“Hey! I knew you could do it. That’s great... “ Dylan responded, trying and failing to be enthusiastic. He’d been worried about this very topic since the start of her senior year. 

“Wait… what’s wrong?! I thought you’d be happy for me!” Panic played across her face, the unexpected response from Dylan shattering the fragile facade of perfection the night had held thus far.

“Oh, Jules... nothing is wrong, and I am happy for you. Extremely happy. Really. I just don’t want to think about you moving away just yet.” he said, with a heavy heart. Julie stared at him with a look that was somewhere between concern, incredulity, and irritation. “ ...wait, that came out wrong. Wherever you wind up going, we’ll make it work. I’ll just miss having you live so close, is all.”

“That’s the best part, though! I’m gonna be working for Kelevra Studios... I’ll only have, like, an hour commute from where I am now. Less, if I move closer to downtown.”

“Wait… No shit?! That’s awesome!” Dylan exclaimed, his relief palpable. “I’d say that’s a cause for celebration. Thank God we’re already having one!” he said, giving her a playful grin.  
“Seriously, though, Jules. I’m so happy for you. I mean that.” With that, he reached across the table, took her hands in his, and kissed each in turn.  
“You know what? This calls for another toast.” Letting her hands go, he held out his wine glass and pointed the rim her way. “Congratulations Julie. Well earned, pup!” It took her a moment, as she was still a touch irritated with his reaction, but she did eventually cave. With a bemused grin, she clinked her glass against his, and he drained the last of his wine. Julie, taking her lead from Dylan, drained hers as well. 

Almost to the moment that Julie had finished her soup (Dylan had finished earlier) the waiter returned with their appetizers. “Oh, I see you liked the Williams Selyem! Would either of you care for another?”

“Well…” Dylan replied, beaming at Julie, “It turns out we have a bit more occasion to celebrate than I’d realized. I think we’ll go ahead and order a bottle. Preferably something special.”

“But of course! Would you like a recommendation? Perhaps you’d like to make a selection on your own?...” Dylan glanced back to Julie, looking for input, but all he got was an uncertain look and a mild shrug.

“Honestly, I think we could use a recommendation… You’d said something about… Hahn Estate?” Dylan replied, a bit sheepishly, needing to check the list again to make sure he got the name right. “Unless there’s something you saw that caught your eye.” he added, glancing back towards Julie.

“Woah, don’t look at me!” she quipped, raising her hands in surrender. “I came here thinking that Rieslings were my happy place.” she added a nervous chuckle.

“Not a problem what-so-ever! We actually carry a full collection of Hahn estate wines, and I’d be happy to pick one for you if you’re interested. Iiiiifffff you’re really in the mood to celebrate, we /do/ have their full Lucienne collection! I think you’ll both /love/ the ‘Lone Oak’. It’s more robust than the Williams, and it should be super nice with both of your mains.”

“Uhh…. That sounds excellent! Let’s do that.”

“Perfect, I’ll be back in just a moment!” The waiter walked smartly away, into the hallway at the back of the restaurant which served as the wine cellar. Dylan watched his silhouette through the glass backed wine rack making up the wall facing the dining area. Light poured through one of the slots as a bottle was pulled from an upper-middle rack, about halfway down the hall. He couldn’t help but hope this meant their waiter had picked a ‘mid-shelf’ bottle for them… A shudder ran up his spine wondering what something ‘top shelf’ would cost here. As quick as he had left, the waiter returned with the bottle and a fresh set of glasses. Setting the glasses aside, he presented the bottle, unopened, to Dylan. As Dylan took it, he took a half a step back, resting his hands behind the small of his back.

“Uhh… do you, um, have a bottle opener I could borrow?" Dylan asked, his tone and expression laced with confusion. 

“Oh, jeeze! I’m sorry you two! I guess I was on auto-pilot, there. Usually, when you order a bottle of wine, there’s a process you go through. A /ritual/, if you will. If you’d like, I could show you. That way, you two will know what to expect the next time you’re out on the town! Besides, it wouldn’t feel right if I just /dropped/ a bottle in front of you and walked off, now, would it?”

“Hmm… That’d be great, actually.”  
“Please!” Julie added, clearly interested in the offered novelty.

“Okay, so. First things first. I’m going to run through the steps with /both/ of you, but know that this usually only applies to whoever ordered the wine.” The waiter gave Julie a slightly sympathetic look, as if he was far too familiar with being the observer. “Now, when the waiter brings you a bottle, the first thing he’s going to do is present it to you unopened for inspection. If he’s from the French school, he will keep a hold of the bottle and show you the label, like so.” From the right, he held the bottle, label-up, for Nick to read. When Nick nodded that he was finished, he moved to Julie and repeated the steps. “Once you’ve made sure the bottle is correct, the waiter - That’s me! - will open it for you.” Standing clear of the table, he peeled the top of the foil capsule in one smooth motion, wiped the top of the bottle, popped the cork, and wiped the mouth of the bottle once again. “Now… depending on where you go, the waiter - or Sommelier - will offer you the cork to inspect or even sniff. I /personally/ think that’s all a little pretentious, don’t you?”  
“Uhh” Dylan sputtered.  
“Erm” Julie mumbled simultaneously.

He waved his hand in an exasperated gesture, the cork pinched between his fingers like a cigarette. “Besides, the next step is to pour you a taste so you can tell if it’s corked or not.” Picking up the fresh wine glasses in his right hand, the waiter poured a tiny sip into each, rolling the bottle as he stopped his is pout to keep any drips from running down the neck. “Okay, you two! Game faces. I’m going to give you your glasses, but don’t drink them just yet.” He handed one to Julie then the other to Dylan. “First, check the color of the wine, and look for any sediment. Everything looking good?”

Dylan and Julie each took a hard look at the sample offered to them. While it was obvious to anyone watching that they had no idea what they were looking for, Dylan gave a nod to the waiter, and Julie gave and affirmative “Okay.”

“Perfect! Now… You’re going to swirl the wine - NOT YET!!” he almost shouted, as Dylan gave his glass a healthy snap. “Easy there, killer! It’s a wine glass, not a polaroid.”

“Oh. Uhh… my bad.” Dylan mumbled, setting his glass on the table. A subtle shade of crimson played across his face and ears. Julie, who was about to swirl her glass like Dylan had, quietly set hers down in front of her.

“Don’t worry! You two are doing /just/ fine. Besides, we’re almost to the good part!” he replied, his concern vanishing as quickly as it came. “...buuuut it’s good that you’ve set your glasses down. To swirl, leave the base of the glass on the table, while rocking the bowl. Good, Just like that!” he exclaimed, pointing at what Julie was doing for emphasis. “This is to release the aroma. In the unlikely event the wine is bad, it’ll smell and taste musty, almost like a damp cellar. If not, the swirl will help bring out the wine’s character.” He paused to let them finish rolling their glasses. “As soon as you’re done swirling, pick up your glass… Now, take a quick sniff of your wine - SNOOT ABOVE THE RIM.” he added, catching Julie with her nose well into her glass. “Just a dainty little sniff. Just to get your senses primed for tasting. Last but certainly not least, the tasting itself. If you’re just given a tiny pour, it’s normal to drink it all, but if your watier gives you a full pour, it’s expected you only take a small sip.” As instructed, they both drank their samples, each let the wine sit on their palates for a long moment, trying to prise out the various flavors their waiter had mentioned when making his recommendation. The waiter, for his part, waited patiently while they finished. He gave them a long pause before finally asking, “Soooooo….?” in an expectant tone.

“It’s lovely” Julie replied, simply.

“Yeah. Like you said earlier. It’s more, umm… robust than the Williams.”

“Perfect. I’m glad you both like it!” he said, taking their glasses and filling them before placing the rest of the bottle on the table between them. “Well done, by the way. The last step is confirming whether the bottle is acceptable. You both got that part on your own!” Stepping away from the table, he added, “The main course should be along shortly. If you need me before then, just give me a wave!” As was becoming a theme, he turned smartly, and walked back to the kitchen with just a bit too much sway in his gait.

“God, that was bad! I am sooooooooo out of my element.” Dylan complained, his feigned lamentation letting Julie know that we was mostly kidding. Mostly.

“Oh, I dunno. I kinda liked it. It made things feel special. Fancy.” She curled in on herself a bit, an innocent uncertainty playing across her face.

“That’s a fair point. It is kinda nice to feel special…” He said, a bit more introspectively. He glanced away, apparently lost in thought, before turning his gaze back on Julie with a resigned smirk. “...of course, I generally prefer to feel special, as opposed to, well, ‘special’.”

“Hey, chin up! You’re supposed to be the confident one in this relationship. Besides, I’m enjoying tonight, so I hope you’re enjoying it too!”

“Oh, I am. I just hate feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing, is all.”

“You’re the one who’s always encouraging me to expand my horizons! Didn’t you just tell me to ‘Live in the moment’?” She asked, a bit of a mischievous grin forming at the edges of her muzzle.

“Oh, sure! Come at me with your ‘quotes’ and ‘remembering things’.” he said, trying to get back to his previous frame of mind. “That’s just playing dirty… Eat up! Your squirrel is going to get cold.”

To his credit, Dylan managed to shake off the hit to his ego as they started on their appetizers. To keep the conversation going, he tried to pick out the various regional influences used in their orders, while she waxed poetic about her favorite animals for eating. Just as Dylan was picking the last pieces of frito misto off the serving tray, the main courses arrived. The two finished their meal in comfortable conversation, talking about the particulars of Julie’s job and what her schedule was going to look like around graduation. As the night went on, they started discussing some of Kelevra Studio’s back catalog. As if by telepathy, their waiter returned just as Julie was stalling out trying to finish her stew.

“Just checking in! Is there anything I can get for you two lovebirds?”

“Umm… I don’t suppose I could get the rest of this wrapped up, could I?” Julie asked a little sheepishly.

“Uhh, Julie, “ Dylan jumped in, trying to keep her from making a faux pas. “I’m not sure if they really /do/ that at a place like this.”

“Oh, sure we do! it’s more than fine. I’ll take this back and get it ready to go while you wait.” He beamed back at Julie. “...wouldn’t want it to go to waste, after all.”

“My bad.” Dylan added, looking at Julie, slightly embarrassed. “I had no idea you all were cool with that sort of thing.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, either of you! I’m happy to say that old trope about fine dining and doggie bags is falling by the wayside, and that restaurants like us are doing our part to minimize waste.” “How about you, sir? Is there anything you need?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if you had a desert menu handy. - or two...” Dylan glanced at Julie for confirmation. “You still interested in a little something?”

“Well, I suppose I might have a bit of room saved somewhere.” she quipped. 

“As luck would have it, I do! Here you go, you two.” He beamed, passing a menu to Julie with a flourish, then doing the same for Dylan. He stood at the ready for a long moment, letting them read through the list and waiting for potential questions about the offerings.

“Hmm… these all look pretty good, but I think I’ll have the apple tart with vanilla and truffle ice cream. What would you like, Jules?”

“Umm... I think I’ll have the Creme Brule.” She replied, smiling at Dylan.

“Perfect! Would you like some coffee to go with those?”

“Yes, please!” They replied in unison.

“Sounds great! I’ll get those orders placed right now. You two are so cute, by the way!” the waiter added, wringing his hands together. With that, he left.

“Okay, I give. I shouldn’t have gotten down about being out of place earlier. I haven’t been too much of a downer tonight, have I?” 

“Well… I was still a little mad at you on the car ride over, but I think this place totally makes up for it. As for after the wine tasting, bottle opening, thing? Well… it’s not like I can say anything. I’m normally the one who’s feeling uncomfortable and out of place.”

“Hahaha, thanks… If it means anything, I still think it’s adorable when you get nervous about stuff.”

“Awww… That means a lot to me.” She clasped her hand to her chest, a genuine look of gratitude on her face. “...but hey, we shouldn’t be talking about all this heavy stuff right now. We’ve got more important things to worry about. I heard that there was this new detective anime coming out soon, called Psychopass. I don’t know how it’ll be compared to Deathnote, but it looks to be way more sci-fi! I wonder if it’ll be like Blade Runner or…” Dylan was more than happy to roll with the change in topic, pouring the last of their wine while Julie took charge of the conversation, talking about some of the new shows she was looking forward to. They continued like this, pausing briefly while their deserts were presented. Their waiter even brought a butane torch along and making a show of caramelizing the sugar crystals on both deserts in front of them. Desserts served, he gave a deep bow, and turned to leave.

“Hey, waiter!” Dylan called, waving to him as he was walking back. “Sorry about that, I don’t think I ever got your name.” 

“Oh, where are my manners?!” He called, approaching Dylan and Julie’s table. “I’m Chase! ...Is there anything else I can get for you while you’ve got me here?”

“Oh, I just figured we’d get the formalities of the check out of the way. You wouldn’t happen to have it handy, would you?”

“I would not, but I can go get it for you!”

“Much appreciated, thanks Chase.”

As they ate their deserts, Chase swung by again, dropping off the check in a pull-up leather holder. Riding the high of the evening, Dylan tossed his credit card into the book and handed it back to Chase before he was out of arm’s reach.  
“Figure I’d save you the extra trip. Thanks again for the help tonight.”

“Oh, Thank you so much! It was my pleasure!” Chase beamed, holding the book to his chest.

“Nice guy” Julie said offhand, through a mouthful of creme brulee. 

“I certainly thought so as well… You sure you like the competition?” he asked, giving her a lecherous grin before having another forkful of apple tart.

“It takes two to tango… Is there something you want to tell me about yourself?” She pointed her dessert spoon at her accusingly, a goofy grin on her face.

“Oh, sweetie…” he said with a lisp, hiking his voice up and striking a foppish pose. Before outside parties could take notice, he dropped the act, his smile turning genuine. “You know I’m no switch hitter, just like you know you’re the only one for me. Thanks again for sticking around. ...and thanks for finding a job nearby.”

“Not sure why you’d think I’d go anywhere. Too much fun watching your acts fall apart the moment they start. Besides, if I left, I might - like - miss you and stuff.” with the last sentence, she broke eye contact, a little embarrassed at her own admission.

Not a minute later, Chase had returned with the check and Dylan’s card.  
“Thanks again for dining with us tonight, and have a great evening! If you need a refresh of your drinks, or a coffee or something, don’t hesitate to wave me over. If not, thanks again you two, and have a great rest of your evening!” With that, he moved on to his next table. Dylan was all smiles as he opened the leather cover to write up the tip.

“Hey, love, that first glass of wine was amazing! What ...was the, uh, what kind was it?” Julie caught herself when she saw the look on his face. “Dylan? Is something wrong?!” He was sitting there, slack jawed, and visibly pale. Reading through the receipt, the reality of his earlier jokes about cost came crashing down on him like a wave. Their meal had totaled out at almost four hundred dollars. The bottle of Lucienne, alone, had cost nearly a hundred. 

Collecting himself, he choked out “Oh… it’s nothing. ...Everything’s there that’s supposed to be. I just didn’t realize they’re as proud of their wine selection as they are.” 

“Oh, no! What’d it cost?!” she shot back, her worries from back in the car coming to the fore.

“Like I said earlier. Everything here costs ‘don’t worry about it’.” He forced a grin, scribbled out an eighty dollar tip, and snapped the book shut. “The first wine we had was Williams Selyem, by the way.”

The whole ride back, Julie flip-flopped between talking about her new job, and waxing poetic about dinner. Dylan did what he could to play along, trying hard to keep his own nerves at bay. The night had been great so far, but it was all too quickly approaching showtime, and there was a huge difference between reading about bondage play, buying toys, and actually tying up and - well... - flogging his girlfriend. He still didn’t know how she was going to react to it… or if he’d actually be able to go through with it.

Skipping Julie’s apartment entirely, Dylan drove to his own place. They spent enough time at each others apartment that each had plenty of toiletries and spare clothes. With it being so close to Christmas, the parking lot was almost empty, most residents having left to visit family. Picking a spot almost directly in front of his apartment, he again got the door for Julie and walked her to the door.  
“You know, a girl could get used to this.” She lilted, still riding high from the evening.

“See that Julie? Dress yourself up, and you get taken somewhere fun.” he said with a wink and a kiss on the cheek. 

“I told you you’d like Firefly.” She replied, catching the reference immediately. He fished his keys out of his pocket, opened the door, and lead Julie through. “Thanks again for a wonderful night out.” she added, hugging his arm and rubbing up against him.

“I hope the night’s not quite over yet. I got a little bit of an early Christmas present for you. I figured it’d be better to give it to you now, rather than trying to find time with all the craziness of going to your family’s tomorrow and to mine on Christmas Day.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to get me anything!” she practically cooed, following him into his apartment.  
Dylan walked over to the counter, with Julie following a couple of steps behind. “So what is it?”

“I want it to be a surprise for you. You mind being blindfolded?” He asked, picking up a silk sash.

“I didn’t think you were much for that sort of thing.” She teased.

“I guess you just bring that out in me.” Walking over to her, he cupped her jawline in his left hand, the sash in his right. He gave her a quick kiss, before slipping behind her, dragging his hand along her neckline. He threw the sash over her eyes, tucking the band under her ears before snugging it juuuust a little too tight for comfort.

“You sure you can’t see anything?” he asked, holding her by the shoulders and rubbing his nose along the edge of her ear.

“Mmnh, not a thing.” She practically cooed.

“Perfect, I’d hate to ruin the surprise.” steering her by her shoulders, Dylan walked her past the living room into the bedroom.

“Ooh, you left it in the bedroom, huh?” she asked, her keen sense of direction only enhancing her lack of subtlety.

“I thought you said you couldn’t see anything” he led her to the corner of the bed, letting go of her shoulders and stepping back.

“Oh, come on Dylan. If you didn’t want me knowing where we were going, you could have at least turned me around some. I really can’t see anything, by the way.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Next time.” he responded from somewhere off to her left. “Still… Almost ready.” She could hear him return, messing around with something just behind her.  
“I really was having trouble thinking of what to get you this Christmas, then it struck me. There was something you’d mentioned a couple of times in passing. Not really my thing, but that’s not exactly what giving is about.” She could feel his breath on her neck, causing her to shift nervously.  
“I just want you to keep one thing in mind, love.” He said, slipping the supple leather collar around her neck.  
“The safety word is ‘Pineapple’.” With that, he grabbed her by the shoulders. He spun her around, and walked her backwards until her calves hit the edge of the bed. One more firm push, and she was seated directly in front of him.  
“Oh little coyote, I fear you’re caught in my snare… Whatever are we to do about that?” he whispered into her ear in breathy tones.

“I… I think I need to be disciplined… master.” she whispered breathily, her uncertainty bleeding through her facade.

“Hmm… how insightful. I think you might need to be disciplined as well.” He said, not really sure what sort of ‘tone’ a ‘dom’ should maintain. “Though I think that ‘master’ is a little much. ‘Sir’ will do nicely, I think.”

“Sir” She purred “H-how are you going to discipline me?”

“I’m thinking that we should exercise a little restraint.” He cringed at his own pun, but it was just too easy not to make. [Besides, hadn’t she had said something similar last Christmas?] “But first, those clothes. You’re wearing far too many of them. I’m thinking that’s something we should remedy. Stand back up for a moment.” Grabbing her firmly - but carefully - by the arms, he guided her back to her feet. Spinning her around, he found the dress’s zipper along the small of her back and slowly pulled it down to the hole for her tail. With a final gentle tug, the free end of the zipper came loose, the back of the dress splaying ever so slightly apart. Freed from its nylon prison, her tail wagged in low, nervous, arcs of its own accord.

“Would you like me to -”

“Shush shu Shh…” he chided. “When I want you to do something, I’ll let you know.” Slowly, firmly, Dylan slid his hands under each side of the back of Julie’s dress, holding her by her waist. Digging furrows into her fur with his fingertips, he ran his hands up her sides and back until he reached the straps holding up her dress. As sensually as he could manage, he slipped them over her shoulders with his thumbs, caressing her arms as he pulled the dress down. As he got the straps past her arms, he slipped his hands under the body of the dress, wrapping them around her stomach then up to her modest breasts. He gave them a healthy squeeze, before hiking the dress the rest of the way down her body. As his hands reached her waist, he stopped, steadying her while appreciating the view in front of him. Julie stood, still blindfolded and shivering in anticipation, half disrobed with her risque undergarments on partial display. She’d selected a red silk strapless bra supported by a lace half girdle. With a small shift of his hands, Dylan nudged the dress over Julie’s hips, letting it fall to the floor and revealing a matching pair of skimpy low-cut lace panties.  
“I like this new side of you.” he whispered into her ear. “I think I’d like to see it more often. It brings out the… my more instructive side.”

“Hmm… yes, sir!” She replied, her tail wagging furiously. She was enjoying the attention, though clearly hoping for more.

With some hesitance, Dylan let go of Julie, leaving her standing in the middle of the room, her dress spilled around her ankles. He walked to the bedside table, quietly picking up the leash he’d laid out next to her collar’s box. Slipping it around his neck, he roughly pulled open the drawer and snatched up the handcuffs. He let them clink and clatter as he picked them up, dropping not so subtle hints to Julie as to what was in store. He watched as she turned towards the noise, her ears straight up and on high alert. While he clinked the cuffs against each other with one hand, he used the other to quietly pick the yardstick from its perch against the head of the bed. As he walked back towards her, cuffs still jingling, she instinctively turned towards the noise.  
“Ahh, ahh ahh… did I say that you could move?” he chided, trying to lace a little edge into his tone.

“Oh, sorry…” she turned, more or less, back the way she was facing and stood stiffly, unsure of exactly what to do.

“Is that how you’re supposed to talk to me, pet?!” He didn’t raise his voice, but he laced some threat into his tone. [Okay, step one done. Find a reason to discipline… Jesus, I can’t believe I’m about to do this.]

“SIR!” she yipped, the tension starting to get to her, “...sorry sir”

“That’s better.” He said, his tone softening significantly. “I can’t have my good girl being disrespectful, now can I?”

“I… no sir.” she whispered, shifting around a bit before standing up straighter. Dylan closed to within arms length before setting the cuffs and the yardstick on the bed. 

“Good, now give me your paw.” Uncertain what to do, Julie held her hand out for Dylan to take. Surprisingly gently, he took her by the wrist and elbow, and guided her over her dress. As soon as she cleared, it, however, he calmly but firmly twisted her wrist behind her back, hiking it up to just below her shoulder blades.

“Dylan!” she yelped, caught off guard by the sudden change in treatment.

“What. Did. I. Just. Tell. you?” he asked icily, picking the cuffs up off the bed and snapping one around Julie’s wrist.

“Oh, Shit! I’m sorry, sir!”

“Oh, how I wish I believed that.” His put on a disappointed tone… “Give me your other arm. I can’t have my pet flailing around while she’s being disciplined, now. Can I?”

“No sir!” she replied, almost too enthusiastically. As she brought her other arm behind her back, he relaxed the one he had control of, bringing it close enough to cuff her free arm without stressing either of her shoulders.

“Now… I can’t have my pet running away from me, can I?” he asked, walking around her where she stood. He reached out, cupping her cheek with his palm, his fingers gently rubbing her ear. She leaned into his touch, reveling in his gentle ministrations. As he massaged her ear, he gently clipped the leash to her collar, letting the clasp snap shut with an audible click. He shifted his hand from her cheek to her lower jaw, guiding her muzzle up so he could give her a quick kiss on the lips.  
“Come.” he said simply, backing away from her and giving her leash a gentle tug. He turned, picking up the yard stick and leading her out of the bedroom, keeping the leash low in hand so she had to walk slightly bent over. He lead her into the living room area, and ushered her up against the back of his chesterfield club chair. Gently, but firmly, he positioned her legs tight against the chairback, her thighs pressing into the thick brown leather of its roll-top cushion.  
“Bend over.” he commanded, giving her leash another gentle tug. Obediently, Julie bent slightly at the waist, the chair back keeping her from bending at the knees.  
“Farther!” This time he gave a firm tug, almost pulling her over the back of the chair. Julie shrieked in surprise struggling hard against her cuffs, her thighs pressed hard against the chair back as she tried desperately to keep from falling face first over the seatback.  
“That’s better.” [Fuck… I hope this isn’t too much. She’d say something, right?!] With Julie’s nose almost touching the cushion, he looped his end of the leash and slipped it under the chair leg. The leash secured, he let up on the tension, allowing Julie to regain her balance. Even so, she was just barely able to get her back horizontal, her glutes and hamstrings stretched taut and supporting the bulk of her weight.

Dylan stood back up, pausing for a moment to assess his work. Julie shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a stable place to stand. Every time she shifted her weight back, the leash would drag her head lower. When she tried to stand upright, the leash pulled her further forward and off balance. Satisfied that she was in a sufficiently precarious-feeling position, he walked over to the small dining area. He took his time removing his suit jacket, untucking his dress shirt, and then unbuttoning it.. As he did this, he kept a watchful eye on Julie, making sure she could hold the position without risking a fall. She was fidgeting, her muscles clearly not used to supporting her weight like this, but her feet remained planted and she had something to lean against.

By the time he walked back to where he had left her, Julie was visibly shaking. He couldn’t tell if it was nerves, exertion, or some combination of the two. Yardstick in hand, his nerves left him somewhere between uncomfortable and outright nauseous.  
[I’m doing this all wrong. I have to be… Should I be trying to roleplay this hard? This just doesn’t feel right.] He reached out to comfort Julie, running a hand along her back and debating whether he should just unclip the leash, take the cuffs off her wrists, and apologize. At his touch, however, her tail went from tucked tight between her legs to fully raised, her pucker and her sex on full display save for their silken veil.  
“Good Girl!” he cooed, the relief he felt so profound that he couldn’t hide it in his voice. “Hiking without even being told. ...how lewd!”

“Th-Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t think for a moment that I’ll let you off easy, though.” he traced his hand further down her back, giving her rump a firm squeeze.  
“After all… Obedience”  
He gently tapped the opposite cheek with the flat of the yardstick.  
“Requires.”  
He tapped her again, in the exact same spot, before taking the stick much, MUCH, further back.  
“Discipline.”  
*FWAP!!!* *YIP!* He snapped the stick sharply against her upper buttock, just above the panty line, being careful not to drive through the impact. Julie cried out, jerking upwards until she was stopped by the leash. From his earlier experimentation on himself, Dylan knew that the first strike would barely hurt, the shock and the noise probably just spooked her. He was happy to hear that her panties had kept her fur flat against her svelte rump, preventing it from muffling the strike.

*tap* *Tap* *TAP* *Tap* *tap* *FWAP!!* *AIIEE!!* he repeatedly teased the spot he had just struck, gently bumping it to focus her attention on that single patch of skin. When she stopped flinching from the cursory taps, he delivered the second sharp strike. This time, he knew the pain would be real, the first strike having sensitized her skin.

*tap* *Tap* … *tap* Julie jumped at the third tap, thrown off by the pause.  
*SMACK!!!* *AAAHHH* *Aaanh* *ooh* Just as she began to relax, he brought the yardstick down again, striking the same spot for the third time. As much as he hated admitting it, watching her reaction was ...extremely arousing. Still, it was clear that three strikes was probably her pain threshold for a single spot.  
“Are you still with me, pet?”

“Ye… Yes” she gasped out, a hunger beginning to stir in her voice. Clearly, her endorphins were starting to kick in and it was obvious she wanted more than a taste. He took a long moment to gently rub the spot on her backside that he’d been striking. A happy growl escaped from her throat at the warm relief his touch brought. Resigning himself to what he was about to do, Dylan sighed deeply. 

“I’m happy to hear it.” He said, his voice even and measured. “But I’m clearly being too lenient if you can’t remember to use my title.” *SMACK!!!* he struck the same side, but much lower, aiming for the crease just beneath her butt. Julie hissed through gritted teeth, but didn’t cry out.  
[Oh well…] he thought to himself, stepping further into his role [There’s a simple remedy for that]. A second strike, only moments later, got the reaction he was looking for. After crying out, Julie let out a short trail of whimpering moans that quickly faded into erratic heavy breathing. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, dylan moved directly behind her, and set the yard stick on the seat cushion next to Julie. He made a conscious effort to do so firmly enough that she could hear it hit the cushion. Hands free, he palmed both of her cheeks, rubbing gently over the sensitive spots where he’d struck her. She leaned hard into his touch, a pleased little groan escaping her muzzle.  
“Hmm… What was I thinking.” he mused aloud, as he massaged her. “All this talk about discipline, and nothing about structure. As tempting as it is to beat your ass crimson, then parade you around, I fear we’d lose sight of why we’re here in the first place.” He gave both of her cheeks a squeeze, pressing firmly on the spots he’d hit. She drew a sharp breath, clearly savoring the sensation. “So here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to give you - let’s say - 10 lashes. You will count them out for me. Addressing me properly will not be necessary while you count, but I expect you to do so otherwise. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” She practically purred.

“That’s my good girl.” He ran his hands down her lower back a few times, finishing by running her tail through one hand, while giving her behind a final squeeze with the other, making sure to run a thumb over her silk shrouded sex. He was surprised to feel just how excited she was. Her lips were swollen enough to press furrows into her panties, made more prominent by how thoroughly she’d already soaked the crotch. Reluctantly, he pulled away, picking up the stick and trying to stay in the right headspace. With a deep breath, he steeled his resolve and swung.  
*SNAP* *AAaaahng* He struck the the other cheek, keeping the impact sharp but light.  
“Count!”  
“O-One…”  
*FWAP* *Aaah… Haaah…” he landed this one just below the previous, letting the heat from both impacts bleed together .  
“...two.” *CRACK* “Three!” *SNAP* “F-four..” Dylan worked his way up and down both buttocks and the backs of her legs, sometimes using a horizontal swing, sometimes a diagonal, trying to keep her guessing as to where and how the next strike was going to land. Whenever her response sounded /too/ pained, he moved over to a fresh patch of skin. When her response was too sultry or ineffectual, the next strike found skin beaten sensitive from previous impacts. 

When she called out the ninth strike, Dylan slowly ran the yardstick up along her inner thigh tracing from her knee, all the way up to her mound. A visible shiver ran up her spine as me made his way upward, her breath catching in her throat as the thin edge found her mons. He pulled the stick away and waited for a long second, letting the tension build.

“Te-Ten?” She asked, uncertainly, through gasping breaths. If she could, he imagined she would be sweating bullets. 

“No, pet.” he replied in a somber voice. “hhiiiissSSS CRACK!!!* he slammed the stick hard across both cheeks, this time driving /through/ the impact. He made sure to catch the rearmost parts of her lips, though the majority of the impact was borne by her cheeks.

“AAAAH! Aaah. ah. Ooohhh… Ow...” Julie bucked so hard that she picked the front of the chair up. He watched, enthralled, as she strained against the cuffs and her lead, her pucker and her sex spasming visibly. Part of Dylan hated that he was starting to enjoy this. …another part of him was hard enough to cut diamond.

While she struggled to get herself back under control, Dylan set the yardstick aside. It had served its purpose for the night. Tenderly, he gripped the outsides of her thighs, gently massaging her thoroughly striped ass with his thumbs and occasionally running one or the other over her sensitive lips. At this point, her panties were sopping all the way up to the waistband, but he didn’t say anything for now. When her breathing started to stabilize, and her shaking subsided, he asked,

“Count? ...Pet?”

“Ten… Sir.”

“That’s my good girl. Let me help you back up.” He walked around her bent form, making sure to keep a hand on her the entire time. When he reached her head, he cradled it in his arms, holding it against his waist and stroking her hair. The embrace took the strain off her neck while ensuring she got a nose full of his scent. It also gave her an up-close view of his member straining to burst from his dress slacks. [After something like that] he grinned to himself [she deserves a little bit of encouragement].  
“Alright. Easy, now. Let’s get this unhooked. Here, bend over a little further… give me some slack… Alright. There we are. Up we go.” he guided Julie back upright, helping her maintain her balance and generally making sure she didn’t cramp up or pass out.  
“That’s my good girl” Facing her, he supported her neck gently with both hands and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. She absolutely melted at his touch, a string of breathy little moans rolling out of her. Enthralled by the scene before him, Dylan couldn’t help but break character for a moment, leaning in to give Julie a long, loving, kiss. Still, the blindfold, cuffs, collar, and leash, remained resolutely on.

When he was sure that she could walk unsupported, he took the end of the leash and led her back into the bedroom.  
“Now that we’ve got that unfortunate business out of the way, I think we should work on some obedience training.” As he spoke, he walked around Julie in a slow circle, in part to admire her body, and in part to mess with her sense of orientation. “Those cuffs may work well in a pinch, but I can’t imagine that they’re very comfortable. I think a harness would be perfect for you, girl, and I think I have just the one picked out. Before we begin, though, is there anything you want to say to me? Any word that comes to mind?”

“...no, sir.” Her hesitation left him a little bit worried, but if she wasn’t going to back down then he wouldn’t either. He picked up a couple of bundled ropes, and brought them over to the edge of the bed. 

“I should probably take those off of you first. They’ll only get in the way of what we’ll be doing.” Fishing his keys out of his hip pocket, he gently removed the cuffs, setting them in his back pocket for convenience.  
“This, too. As pretty as it may be, it’s you I want on display tonight.” With that, he undid her bra, letting the fabric play across her nipples as he slipped it down and off her.  
“Now is your chance to stretch out your arms and shoulders. I suggest you make use of it.” Julie complied, clasping her hands together over her head and stretching out her back. Dylan watched her hungrily as he unbundled the rope then doubled it over.  
“Alright, enough. Put your hands behind your back, like so.” Unlike before, where he’d been forceful, Dylan gently folded Julie's arms with her elbows out and her wrists together almost like a parade rest. He started by tying a somerville bowline around her wrists with an ease that could only have come from hours of practice.  
“Julie, serious talk for a moment. This is important. The ties I’m doing tonight should be pretty safe, but there’s always a chance that something gets wrapped too tight and nerves get pinched or blood flow gets cut off. If anything starts to pinch or goes numb, let me know /immediately/ and I’ll fix it. Okay?”

“Oh… Okay.”

“Pet?” He asked, a bit of threat in his tone.

“Yes, sir!”

“Much better.”  
Safety spiel over, he got back to work in earnest, wrapping the tails from the bowline around her upper arms and chest. As he did so, he made sure to give her breasts some extra attention, giving each a firm squeeze as he hiked the rope as far up under each as he could. Julie gasped the first time he grabbed her, and let out a sultry growl the second time. He set the first set of shoulder straps, locking the under-breast wrap in place. He took his time running the rope through the valley of her cleavage, sending a cascade of sensation through her chest, eliciting a shudder and a small mewling moan. He cinched the straps juuuust a little tight, hiking the lower wrap even further and lifting her breasts visibly. Julie gasped, a mixture of surprise and concern in her voice.

“Everything alright, pet?”

“Uhh… yes, sir.”

“No pain? No pinching?”

“No, sir.”

“Perfect. Do let me know if that changes.” Letting out a tiny bit of slack - just to be on the safe side - he tied off to the spine of the harness at her back. He started to tie the loops that kept her elbow wraps from falling off… only to have his memory completely blank for the next steps. 

Cursing quietly to himself, Dylan fished his phone out of his hip pocket. He struggled to pull up the harness tutorial with one hand while holding the unfinished harness together with the other. He eventually got it unlocked, and the browser pulled up, only to run into wifi connection issues. Giving up on troubleshooting, he disabled wifi and tried to load the full pictorial instructions from his 3g connection… which to him might as well have taken a decade.

“Experiencing some technical difficulties? ...Sir? The air of amusement in her tone completely obliterated the sense of tension he was trying to cultivate.

“Listen, pet. Just because I don’t discipline you this instant doesn’t mean there won’t be a reprisal. I’ll have this done shortly, then we can pick up where we left off.” By the time he’d finished talking, the website had (finally) loaded the instructions to the point where he’d gotten lost. He finished the harness without further issue, careful to keep all of his wraps flat, and making sure that the warp over her breasts was also a little tight, pushing them outward to stand at an unnatural angle. After all, he couldn’t let such insubordination go unchallenged. Julie, meanwhile, had gotten back into character nicely, rewarding each errant touch or caress with a gasp, or a shiver. Standing back to admire his work, the surrealism of the night finally sunk in.

“Julie, all acting aside, you really need to see this to appreciate it. Come with me.” Leash in hand, Dylan led her in front of the dresser. He slipped behind her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and turned her to face the mirror. He made a show of taking off her blindfold, caressing her ears as he lifted it off her eyes. Julie gasped as she took in her reflection, unable to process the reality of her fantasies made manifest.

“...woah.” was all she could manage, a look of awed disbelief on her face.

With a knowing grin, Dylan leaned down to speak breathily into Julie’s ear.  
“God, you look so sexy right now. The little number you’re modeling tonight is called a star harness, for obvious reasons. While we could have gone for something a little more basic, this felt a bit more elegant… more appropriate for the occasion. Plus, this one has a Lovely little bonus feature. To demonstrate, I’d like you to struggle against it. Try to wiggle your arms free if you can”

The request from her dom seemed to snap her out of her trance. Her focus shifted to Dylan’s reflection in the mirror, a questioning look in her eyes.  
“Go on, try and get free.”  
Following his request, Julie pushed her elbows outward, trying to gain some slack on the arm wraps. She gasped, and stopped immediately, as the harness wraps pinched her breasts between them, the windings of the rope pressing into her sensitive flesh from above and below. As she relaxed some, so did the pressure on her skin, the wraps taking slack from the loops holding her upper arm bindings in place.  
“You can try to slither your way out of this one if you like, but all you’re likely to do is rub yourself raw. ...not that I’d mind watching.”

“I would never try to escape, sir!” She grinned hungrily, shifting around in the harness to help the various wraps settle and even out.

“Oh, but you haven’t seen what I have planned for you, pet! There’s still so much for us to do tonight! Come! Sit on the bed, and we can get started.”

“Wait… Sir?” She glanced up at him for an instant, but couldn’t hold his gaze. He could tell immediately that something was legitimately bothering her.

“Yes?” He replied, dropping the dom act immediately. 

“Could you… Would you… take some pictures of me like this?” Julie’s ears folded against her head, her tail wrapped as tight as he’d ever seen between her legs. If her arms weren’t bound behind her back, he imagined she’d be wringing her hands together nervously.

“I, uhh…” Dylan’s brain froze solid for a moment, he had tried to plan for most fantasies she could have had, but a nude photo shoot was definitely not one of them.  
“Uhh… sure, just give me a moment.” Dylan ran unceremoniously from the bedroom to the living room, dug through his desk drawers until he found his point and shoot digital camera, and came bounding back in with it. Seeing Julie, however, his nerves flared back with a vengeance. She’d shuffled over to the side of the bed and was sitting hunched over, looking at her feet, worry written across her features as plain as day. Just like that, the uncertainty he’d felt before their spanking session came rushing back with a vengeance. He was torn, his conscience screaming at him to put the camera away and call it a night. He looked down at the camera in his hands, shaking his head.

“Dylan? what’s wrong?!” He looked up to a pair of amber eyes staring into his, a completely different kind of concern piercing to his very soul. In that moment, he knew exactly what she wanted, even if she wasn’t sure of it herself. He knew what he had to do.

“Oh, pup, nothing’s wrong. I just never thought I’d be breaking this old thing out again, what with phone cameras being so good. ...also, didn’t we just have a discussion about how to properly address me?”

“Shit, sorry again, sir.” 

“I’ll let it slide just this once. We /had/ been out of character, after all.” Dylan closed the distance between them and grabbed Julie’s leash. He made a show of wrapping it around his hand until his grip found the clasp, her chin resting on his leatherbound fist. As he pulled Julie off the bed and onto her feet, he could sense the doubt that had been hanging over her fall away..  
“Now… Why so glum, pet? Do you need a treat?”

“More than you know, sir…” She replied in a sultry voice, her tail wagging slowly behind her.

“Well, then. I think I might have a little something for you, but you’re going to have to earn it. ...Let’s see what tricks you know.” Dylan backed away from Julie, letting the leash fall away and giving him some distance for camera work. In an unhurried manner, he turned on the camera, checking the battery level, and picking the right settings for close up, low light, indoor shots.  
“Okay. We’re going to start simple and go from there. Let’s see how you do, and I’ll decide just what kind of treat to give you…” Raising the camera, he got her in focus and in frame. “Okay, now stand up straight… Straight as you can, facing me. I want to see those shoulders back and chest out.” *Click* “Good, girl! Now, hold that pose, but let’s have you look down and away.” *Click* “That’s not bad, but let’s see if you can’t give me some emotion! I want to see that worry, that apprehension. Let it all out!” *Click* “Oh, much better! Now, close your eyes for me. Ears back.” *Click* “That’s beautiful. That’s my good girl… /so/ pure. /soooo/ innocent.” *Click* “God, that’s so hot!” *Click* “Okay, now turn for me a bit. I want to see those beautiful breasts in profile. Just a bit more… Perfect!” *Click* “Bend over just a little bit. Let me really see those curves.” *Click* “Now turn your head a little further to the side. Show me mysterious. Hide behind your hairline a bit.” *Click* “I love it! Now turn all the way around for me. Just. Like. That.” *Click* “Beautiful . Now give me a little bit of a show. Spread those legs just a little. Good… Now, bend over for me. Just a little bit. Show off that beautiful ass of yours.” *Click* “Now, hike that tail for me. ...liiiittle bit less. Make me want to know what’s down there, but don’t outright show me.” *Click* “I /LOVE/ it. Hold that pose, but look back at me, over your shoulder.” *Click* That’s it! You know exactly what you’re doing!” *Click* “You know I know! Don’t try to hide it” *Click* “Okay, pet. You can relax now.” Julie stood back upright, her shoulders relaxing visibly. “What can I say? I’m impressed. I think you deserve a little bit of a reward.” 

Dylan set the camera down on the bedside table, and pulling a small silver item from the drawer. As he turned back towards her, Julie turned to face him, that hunger back in her eyes.  
“Good girl!” As he said it, he closed the distance between them, grabbing her by the leash and pulling her into a hard kiss. Mouths opened, as tongues danced between lips pressed hard against each other. Dylan released the leash, grabbing Julie around the throat instead. With his other hand, he activated the bullet vibrator pressing it between his fingers as he palmed one of her breasts. He groped and teased, julie breaking their kiss to let out a moan. Dylan leaned in further, pulling her head to the side as he kissed his way down her jawline. Her arms still tied, the only thing Julie could do was press her hips against his, stretching up on tip-toes to grind against his throbbing erection.  
“Just a taste, now.” he whispered as he continued to kiss his way down her neck. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your appetite.” The hand on her neck gently but firmly pushed her back onto her paw pads as the other teased its way down her stomach all the way to her sex, the bullet pressed firmly against her skin. She gasped, as he ground the little vibrator against her clit, the sheer silk doing nothing to dull the sensations. He slid it up and down her lips, pressing a deep crease into her panties, always returning it to its starting point against her clit. Julie moaned openly, her legs shaking violently and her knees threatening to snap shut, trapping his hand. He kept up the assault, kissing down to the base of her neck then back then back up to the root of her ear, only to turn her head and move to the other side. As turned on as she already was, Dylan’s ministrations had her on the brink in seconds, her abs clenched tight and her legs threatening to give way. Moments before the sweet relief of release, he pulled the bullet abruptly away, giving her one last kiss on the cheek before stepping back, leash in hand.

“No… “ *hah* “Please!” she mewled, begging for him to finish what he started. “Sir!” she added, as a hasty afterthought.

“I told you, pup. A taste for now. The rest will cum later.” Frustration plastered across her face, he grabbed her leash and guided her back to the edge of the bed.  
“Now, There’s just a few more poses I’d like pictures of, then I’d like to play a game I think we’ll both enjoy. At the end of it, you’ll get your treat. If you’ll have a seat, we can begin.” Julie got herself seated on the bed, her legs together and set off to the side. Her tail, wrapped around her backside and tucked close to her thigh. While she tried not to show it, the need within her had grown so strong that it’s denial was physically painful.

While she arranged herself, got his camera back out, and got his framing worked out.

“Ready, pup?”

“Sir.”

“Let’s begin, then… Okay, Sit up straight, shoulders back.” *Click* “That’s a good girl! Now… Look at me and pout.” *Click” *Oh, like you mean it!” *Click* “There, that’s better!” *Click* “Now show me some defiance!” *Click* “Look up and away, like you’d never stoop to something so degrading!” *Click* “That’s beautiful.” *Click* “Okay, now lie back with your legs draped off the bed.” *Click* “That’s perfect! Now spread them a bit…. Let me see what you’re working with.” *Click* “That’s good. Hold that pose.” With his free hand, he undid his belt buckle and waist button, sliding the front of his pants down enough to expose the base of his member. Julie, enthralled by what was about to come, looked hungrily at the exposed flesh.  
*Click* “Now there’s a look I’ll /NEVER/ get tired of. ...wait, something’s wrong… What did you do, Pet?!” 

“Sir?!” Julie practically growled her response, her confusion at his admonishment melding with her sexual frustration.

[Perfect, she’s almost there!] he thought to himself. While his outward expression was an amalgam of surprise, irritation, and disappointment, he felt giddy.  
Setting the camera down, he moved over her and roughly pressed his fingers against her sex. He ran them up her lips and over her clit, slathering them with her juices. Holding his hand in front of her face, he rubbed his thumb against his fingers before wiping them off on the top of her nose. The scent of her own excitement was so overpowering, it blocked out everything else, a completely redundant reminder of her unscratched itch.  
“Look what you did to your lovely underwear! You’ve soaked them through, from front to back! We can’t have that. Take them off.” As he spoke, her expression changed from anger to hunger, her eyes following him intently. One step closer to relief. She could almost taste it.

“Apologies, sir.” she replied in a throaty growl, arching her back and legs to lift her hips off the bed. “Would you mind?”

“Well… seeing as how you’re a little tied up at the moment.” Playing his fingers along and under the rim of her waistband, he pulled them off her hips, and over her ass. He worked them slowly down her legs, letting them turn inside out, the crotch still caught within her folds. With a slight stretch they pulled free, a line of grool connecting them to her swollen outer lips.  
“There. Isn’t that better?”

“Much, sir!” Making a show of delicately setting them aside by her dress, he picked up the camera and resumed his position.

“Hmm… Where were we? Ah! Yes! Legs draped off the edge of the bed, eyes on me. I want to see hunger. Here, let me help with that.” Again, Dylan pulled the front of his pants down slightly, showing a glimpse of his groin. While interested, Julie’s response didn’t quite match the last time around, at least not to his liking.  
“Well… That’s not quite the response I was hoping for… Let’s make this easier for the both of us.” Setting the camera down beside her, he made a bit of a show of slipping off his dress shirt, then pulling his wife beater off, crossing his arms over each other and grabbing it from the bottom hem. Julie watched from her position on the bed, her interest remaining a slow burn. Dylan continued, slipping off his slacks and boxers, finally freeing his /extremely/ pent up shaft. Julie watched mesmerised as it stood at full attention, bouncing heavily in time with his rapid heartbeat. Watching the pre gather at the underside of his head, she swallowed subconsciously, suddenly feeling far too constrained.  
*Click* “That.” *Click* “Is the look I was hoping for.” Dylan moved closer, trying to get a better angle while keeping himself out of shot. “Put your left heel on the bed, but leave your right on the floor. Relax those knees and spread some for me.” *Click* “Gorgeous.”

“Okay, Just one more position, then we can get to the really good part. Sit up one more time for me, please.” Grabbing her by the harness, he helped her back to a seated position. “Now... Show me some worry. Some fear. You’re all tied up against your will, no hope of escape, and no one to rescue you.” *Click* The concerned facade she had put on turned genuine as he pulled the riding crop from its hiding place in the bed-rail.  
“Here, let me help you get into character.” Still holding the camera, he gave the crop a hard swing, the tongue whistling through the air. “Now where do you suppose this fellow is going to land?” *Click* Closing the distance between them, he ran it up her stomach, tracing it up to her breasts. While he gently circled an areola with the looped leather tongue, Julie sat spellbound - caught between fear and arousal. Without warning, he drew back the crop, slapping it across the side of her breast. *Snap!* Julie’s eyes widened, blushing hard enough you could see it through her fur. She drew a couple of shallow breaths, trying desperately to stave off a moan. As the crop returned to its gentle caress, brushing gently over the sensitive patch, Julie’s resolve broke, a mewling little moan slipping through her teeth. He moved to the other breast, gently teasing to build tension before firmly striking upward, under her nipple. She struggled in the harness, losing her balance and falling backwards. 

Setting the camera down, Dylan stepped forward to stand directly over her, straddling her right knee. He continued forward, His tip brushing along her inner thigh, leaving a wet trail of pre in her fur as it traced ever closer to her sable lips. She thrust her hips forward and spread her unstradled leg in the hope that he might give her the relief she was so desperately craving.  
*Crack!* “AAaahh, aahh… oooh” She was so enthralled, she didn’t hadn’t noticed the crop until it struck, just above her pubic mound. Spooked by the noise, she clenched hard, reflexively picking both legs up off the floor. Knowing her likely reaction, Dylan caught the the leg he’d been straddling with his thighs, her knee coming to a gentle stop well below his inseam. Without warning, he struck again, just below her waist. He struck again and again at a measured pace, always close to her sex, but never actually hitting it. Unlike with the yardstick, the sting Julie felt from these strikes was minor, but as they built, an unbearable heat washed over her entire groin. Blood rushing to the impact sites quickly found its way to her channel, the pressure at her entrance becoming almost unbearable. Her mind reeling in sensory overload, Julie tried to beg for mercy and for relief, but the words would not form. 

When he felt he’d thoroughly lashed every inch of her waist, thighs, and breasts, he stopped, his arms crossed over his chest and a Cheshire grin on his face. As he stood there watching, the mild stinging on her most sensitive areas faded into a tingling that just kept building. Julie’s jaw locked somewhere between half open and half closed and her muscles tensed as the maddening sensation washed over her. She stared off into space overwhelmed, her own pulse pounding against her inner walls. Unable to bear it any longer, she closed her eyes, sinking into her own head. No longer moored by her surroundings, her mind transformed the sensations, giving them life and a will all their own. Thousands of pinpricks danced across her skin, teasing an ever increasing pressure into her core without any way to relieve it.  
*Click*

“Well done, my good girl! Well done!” He said, beaming. Julie’s eyes snapped open just in time to watch him set the crop and camera back on the bedside table. “I think you deserve a treat.”

“Please, sir… Don’t tease me any more … I need it.” She begged, stuck on the precipice of orgasm, her body shaking.

“...and I intend to give it to you and more, but I still have one more surprise in store. Here, scoot up on the bed.” He crawled up on the bed as well, kneeling over Julie and pulling her towards the center of the mattress, his girthy shaft mere inches from her snout. Though visibly agitated, she complied, pushing herself up with her feet. Once he had her lying comfortably, he sat down at her side, idly stroking her tummy fur to help her settle down. When he felt she’d relaxed enough, he retrieved the remaining pair of rope bundles and got to work. “For this last pair of ties, I’m going to need juuust a little bit of cooperation. If you would, please bring your heels as close as you can to your butt. …Good girl!” Starting with her right leg, Dylan applied a modified frog tie,using a hobbling knot. He started by wrapping a larks head column around her upper thigh and ankle, leaving the ropes fairly loose. With the spare tails, he made a long wrap around the ropes between her thigh and ankle, separating the columns and spreading them. This locked her knee at at a sharp angle, but didn’t didn’t force her heel against her thigh. He repeated the process for her left leg, checking all four columns around her ankles and thighs. He wanted them tight enough that they wouldn’t shift around, but not so tight as to risk circulation. Satisfied that his ties were safe and secure, he ran a hand up her stomach and between her breasts, all the way up to her collar.  
“Safety first!” he said cheerily, removing her leash.

“Okay, pet, let’s see if you know ‘stay’. Here is how this game is played. Attached to each corner of the bed frame is an anchor. I am going to use the two at the head of the bed to spread your knees and to keep you from moving backward. In this box, I have a lovely pair of nipple clamps I’m about to put on you. They’ll be tied to the anchors at the foot of the bed to keep you from moving forward. Once I get you set up and comfortable, I’m going to use some toys to see if I can get you to move forward. If you can be a good girl and stay, I’ll give you your bone. ...unless there’s something you’d like to say to me. ...something that doesn’t belong on pizza.”

“Ugh, I’ll tell you whatever you want, Sir. Just don’t make me wait any longer!” 

“Well, in that case…” He opened the jewelry box holding the clamps and set it next to her head. Julie turned to look, a mixture of fear and curiosity on full display. Inside she could see a pair of silver tong style clamps, the arms of which looked worryingly stout, with gatorback ridges to secure their clasp rings. A blueberry sized pearl pendant hung from the end of each clamp, a delicate silver chain connecting them together. Large rubber pads whispered promises of a firm hold and a worrying amount of leverage.

*Aaahn* “Oh, sir!” In her curiosity about the new toys, Julie hadn’t noticed Dylan shift down over her to suckle at her nipples, so it took her by surprise when he kicked things off with a gentle ‘nip’. He pulled, bit, licked, and suckled at her nipple, doing everything he could to get it to stand on end. While he worked at her with his mouth, his hand roamed free, groping the opposite breast and teasing down to her thighs, before venturing down to her nethers. He slipped a finger inside her, it’s tip rolling heavily over her g-spot and eliciting a delightful struggle against her bindings. With Julie pent up and overstimulated, her spit slicked nipple bloomed to its full size almost immediately, the sudden cold of Dylan’s mouth’s absence making it harder still. Almost immediately, a buzzing ache replaced the cold tingle as Dyaln set the clamp, pulling the clasp ring about a third of the way up.  
*ah- Ah- Ah!- Ow!* a quick set of tugs on the chain pulled a matching set of yelps out of the now thrashing ‘yote, as she became painfully aware of how constrained she was. Unhappy with how much the clamp slipped, Dylan repositioned the pads and reclamped, advancing the clasp ring to about halfway up the tongs.  
*ow Ow OW OW!* “Oh, Fuck!” she cried, as he tested the hold again. This time, he seemed satisfied that the clamp wasn’t coming off without a fight. What was previously a dull ache was quickly becoming a stabbing pain. Before she could complain, however, the return of Dylan’s ministrations to her other nipple and a fresh sensual assault on her sex obliterated the thought from her mind. Less than a minute later, Dylan had the second clamp affixed, matching the setting of the first without any of the pulls from before.

“Okay, girl… Rollover!” Dylan stood at the edge of the bed, watching her expectantly. Julie tried to obey, rocking ineffectually as she tried to make it over on her side. As she thrashed about, the clamps twisted to and fro, pulling a cascade of gasps and whimpers out of her. With one last desperate burst, she managed to flop unceremoniously on her side. The pearl weights and silver chain rolled around the sides of her breasts, twisting the clamps. She moaned out in pained pleasure as they fell away, hanging cantilevered off her nipples.  
“While I appreciate the effort, it looks like you could use a bit of a hand… What do you say, girl?”

*Aanh* “Sir!” *Aaah* “Please!” *Oww* “Please help!” she managed to stammer.

“I’d be happy to.” Dylan climbed up on the bed, standing and straddling Julie as she lay curled in the fetal position. Gently, he slipped an arm around her waist lifting her by her hips and rotating her until her knees were under her. He set her down gently, her weight on her knees and her face buried in the mattress. With her legs frog tied, her feet and shins hovered helplessly in the air. With her arms tied behind her back, she couldn’t lift her head or chest.  
“Okay, girl, let’s get you situated.” He said, as if talking to a barnyard animal. Lifting her upper body by the back of her harness, he repositioned her in the middle of the bed. She cried out as again as the weights, no longer resting on the mattress, twisted mercilessly at her nipples. He set her back down on her face, giving her a couple of loving pets down her back.  
“Almost there.” Dylan dropped down off the bed, grabbing a pillow and stuffing it under Julie’s head.  
“Comfortable?” He asked, receiving only a pained groan in return. “Good!” He grabbed the first web anchor and slipped it around her knee, cinching it until taut. Walking around the bed, he pulled the anchors from the foot of the bed and laid them out, ready to hook up. As he reached the opposite side of the bed, he pulled the final anchor, wrapping it around her other knee.  
“Spread them.” he commanded, pulling gently on the knee he’d just wrapped. “More… little more… Good!” at his command, Julie shuffled her knees wide enough apart that he could comfortably fit his own between them. Satisfied, he tightened the straps, locking her knees in place. Taking a loop of twine from the bedside table, he slipped it around the chain connecting the nipple clamps, and clipped the loops through the carabiners on each of the foot-side anchors.

“Hmm… let’s see” he mused, pulling the slack out of the anchors. “Where -” He cinched a little tighter. “ - do I want - “ He cinched still more “- that cute behind of yours?” He cinched them one final bit. As he tightened, he Julie was forced to scoot further and further back, bending deeper and deeper at the hips to accommodate. When he’d stopped, her upper legs were fully vertical, her rump high in the air with both holes on full display. While she tried hard not to show it, Julie was trying desperately not to panic. Tied to the bed as she was, she could barely move, and with her weight resting on her head and neck, she was feeling extremely claustrophobic. On top of all of this, she was still painfully aroused, the feeling of helplessness only making her more excited.

“Hmm… Let’s see what we’ve got here…” While she’d been ruminating about her need, Dylan had been busy rooting through the treasure trove he’d stashed in the table drawer. “We could always start gently” He pulled out a long feather, running it along her nose, before shifting back to mount an assault on her feet and other ticklish areas.

“No. NO! Don’t you dare tease me like that! SIR! I swear to God, Don’t make me say /THAT/ word! I WILL!” There was real, unbridled, fear in her eyes as she begged, thrashing in spite of the pain it was undoubtedly causing. This was definitely not the reaction that he was expecting, so he quickly changed tack. 

“Such disrespect… Unbelievable… You know, I think you’re right. I think I remember saying something about a reprisal earlier. Well… I think the time may have just come for that.” He put the feather back in the drawer, pulling out a very different set of toys. Without showing her what he was carrying, he climbed up on the bed behind her, grabbing her by the tail and yanking it upright.  
“Hold still, now. This might be a little cold.” Julie Jumped, pulling hard on her chain, as cool, syrupy, liquid landed just above her pucker. The movement caused the lube to pour wide spilling over her tailhole, her taint, and her cheeks.  
“EASY! I don’t want you pulling those clamps off… yet.” he chided, adjusting his aim to match her movements.

“Wait! Wai-wai-wait… Hold on a second, can’t we talk about this?!” she yelped, clearly panicking at what was to come. While she’d joked about it before, Julie had never tried any sort of anal play, and Dylan had never pushed the issue. Now, however, tied and tortured, it was staring her in the face, or at least staring her in the brown eye. [Wait… All I have to do is say the word.] she thought, calming herself and relaxing against her bonds. [Just one little word and he’d stop. Then again… I could always say it a little later…] 

“I told you I was going to test you, pet. You just /had/ to talk back while I was making your lovely harness, and I think you need to be taught a lesson in humility.” Dylan let go of her tail, the entirety of her backside now covered in lube, and picked up the plug he’d brought up with him. Sold as a ‘training plug’ it had a long gentle taper, and was no girthier than he was at its widest. Plus, it vibrated! ...something that he had every intention of taking advantage of later. Even though he’d soaked her back entrance, he made sure to lube up the plug. He didn’t want this to be… unpleasant… after all. 

Julie flinched again, as Dylan grabbed her by the base of the tail, twisting it skyward and leaving her feeling extremely exposed. A chill ran through her as cool air, fanned by her tail, breathed over her soaked hindquarters. The soft touch of a toy running up her folds caused her to jump again, the sharp sting of clamps becoming all too familiar.  
“Ow! FUCK!!” 

“So nervous… So tense… Relax, pet. This will be much more enjoyable if you do.” He ran the plug up her sex and around it, using the tip like a trowel to marshal the lube, which was oozing down her crotch and cheeks, back to her pucker. With Julie now thoroughly soaked and slicked, he ground the tip of the plug against her, twisting it as he did. Instinctively, she rocked forward to avoid the intruder, only to be yanked back towards it by her nipples. She clenched tight, keeping the blunt tip out of herself, but only just. Her sphincter slipped ever so slightly against its gentle assault, causing her to jerk forward again, repeating the process. Dylan let her push the plug backwards, buying a little bit of breathing room, but in response, he slowly started increasing the pressure, pushing ever so slightly harder and harder against her backdoor. Still twisting the plug, he began to rock it up and down, left and right, adding another dimension of stimulation to the nerves of her sphincter as it glided over her slowly relaxing skin. She was pushing hard against the toy, her anchored nipples straining painfully, when she finally caved. In one motion her sphincter relaxed, swallowing up the plug. No longer pushing against the tip, her hips rocked back, sliding her almost all the way up the plug’s bulb.

*GASP!!!!!* “Ooooh-Waaah… ahhh… ahhh… Owww.” She cried out in shock, suddenly speared to what felt like the hilt. Dylan froze in shock, enthralled by the spectacle he’d just seen. He knew that when she ‘popped’ it was going to happen fast, but he swore he could almost hear the ‘bloop!’ when it slipped inside her. 

“You okay?” he asked, the detached demeanor he’d been trying to maintain shattered by ill concealed, surprised, laughter.

“You did that on purpo-” *HAaaah Oooh!* He cut off her tirade with a slight twist of the plug, grinding it that little bit further into her. She was still clenched hard, her pucker locked around the bulb. It twisted with the rest of the plug, only breaking free as he drove it further in.

“Perhaps so… What, pray tell, should I do about it, pet?” he’d managed to get his tone back under control, and was back in character.

“Please.” *aanh* “Just be gentle.” *ooohhh* “... Sir.” As she spoke, he slowly started to pull it out of her, placing his free hand against her rump. As it was withdrawn, he twisted the tip down, letting it press along her channel, He pulled the plug almost all the way out, dragging a disappointed moan out of Julie before reversing course and rocking it back in. Working into a rhythm, he increases his depth with every thrust, building ever closer to the crown of the bulb. What started as pained cries quickly devolved into lewd moans, as her insides became slicker and looser with every thrust. The pain had largely faded away, replaced instead with a deluge of intimate sensations made erotic by their taboo nature. She again started to let go of her focus on the outside world, closing her eyes and diving headlong into the fuzzy embrace of instinct and her sense of touch. She could feel herself being slowly stretched ever further, her muscles relaxing to accommodate. Gentle pressure against her insides made promises of a better fullness yet to come. Gentle prods and pokes swam their way through the haze of her mind, one more new novelty in a sea of strangeness.

*Ooh... oh… aanh. AH!* Dylan was truly starting to work into a rhythm, gliding the tapered invader to its crown before twisting it back out, almost to the tip, when he pushed just too far. She pulled the bulb in, her pucker locking tight around the narrow stem. While unexpected, the moans she produced coaxed him to continue, this time, pulling back on the plug until she dilated, the bulb threatening to pop out before releasing the tension and letting her pull it back in. She let out the cutest little surprised moan, one he just /had/ to hear again. Clicking the button inset in its flared base, the vibrator sprung to life, a pleased whimper emanating from her lips and a gentle whir coming from inside her. Pulling again on the base of the plug, he let go of her ass with his free hand and picked up the bullet vibrator he’d used earlier. With a predatory growl that sent a shiver up her spine, he set to work lavishing attention on her quivering sex..

“Do. Not. Cum.” While Dylan was having a tremendous amount of fun playing with the plug now well and truly buried in Julie, his own needs were quickly pressing their way to the front of his mind. With precious few exceptions, he’d been painfully erect since he blindfolded Julie, and a dull ache had started to spread from the tip of his shaft, all the way back to his spine. His supporting muscles had grown tight and tired from exertion promising at least a day of soreness. What’s more, the slow build up he’d subjected her to had affected him as well. An all to familiar pressure had built from a mild tingle to a pronounced throb, threatening to overwhelm his will at the slightest touch. Much as it pained him to admit, he knew he was playing with a short fuse.

“Oh God! - aaah - Sir! - ooh! - I beg you! Just - ah - fuck me! P-Please!” 

[...then again, so is she!] The instant the vibe had met her lips, she’d been hanging on the precipice of orgasm. Her back was bowed, her abs and thighs shaking, and her breath coming in shallow, ragged, gasps. He pulled the bullet away, both it and his hand soaked in both natural and artificial lubrication. Letting go of the hilted plug, and grabbing Julie by the thighs, he lined himself up behind her, his flushed head pressing between her bloated lips.

“Cum for me.” He pressed hard against her, spearing her to the hilt in a single violent thrust. Whether it was her turgid arousal, the corded tension of her muscles, or the plug still vying for space inside of her, he’d not felt Julie this tight since he’d deflowered her… That notion, however, was wiped away instantly as orgasm rocked through her, the muscles of her channel going positively spastic. Her cries reaching a crescendo, she reared back on her legs momentarily, the clamps pulling her immediately back down against the mattress. Face buried in the pillow, her cries devolved into muffled moans. Thrusting or no, it took everything he had not to follow her over the edge then and there. As her spasming reached manageable levels and he acclimated to the new sensations, he felt confident enough to start thrusting. Just short little strokes to start, he pulled out just enough to bring his hips off of hers before slamming back home, his tip bottoming against her womb. Immediately her cries devolved into gurgling moans as she buried her face in the pillow, trying desperately to keep the neighbors from complaining. The spasming of the muscles in her channel kept going, her first orasm spilling directly into another. Ridges of muscle within her contacted, seemingly at random, caressing his manhood along its length and threatening to rob Dylan of his control. Knowing that stopping was not an option, he instead kicked things into high gear, increasing his tempo and ferocity. His backstrokes stretched further and further until only his head was inside, its ridge catching on the inside of her entrance. At each thrust, his hips slammed against her rump with an audible slap. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew they’d both be bruised and sore tomorrow, but that thought was obliterated by the cascade of pleasure washing over his manhood and the bestial urge to rut his mate.

“Get - hnng- ready - hah - to come again - oof - with me!”  
With one last massive thrust he shoved Julie forward, pushing her head into the headboard, and ripping off her nipple clamps. He came hard enough to see stars, his back locking so tight his breath caught in his throat. Julie, meanwhile, shrieked as she spasmed like an epileptic beneath him, his pulsing shaft still buried to the hilt inside of her. White hot pressure slammed against her center as he unloaded hours worth of pent up need deep inside her, As he slowly rode down the trailing edge of his powerful orgasm, he released his white knuckle grip on her thighs, instead leaning over her back and wrapping himself around her bound arms and chest

“Oh God… Dylan… I can’t feel my legs.” she barely managed to gasp, still shaking from her last orgasm. 

“Oh, shit! JULES!! Why didn’t you tell me?!” Dylan rolled back from his position behind Julie, pulling himself out of her roughly. Leaping off the bed, he fell headfirst, his wrist and elbows bearing the brunt of the impact. “Fuck! Oww!! ...I knew I was going to tie something too tight!” Scrambling back onto his feet, he dove for the bedside table drawer, searching desperately for the trauma shears.

“D- Dylan. Wait!” she gasped, his panic clearing the haze of her fucked out stupor. “The … the ropes… they’re fine. I… I’ve never - never come that hard before. That’s- hah - that’s - that’s why I…” *ha’ah* “Shit… what were we talking about?”

“Oh, thank God!” he gasped, abandoning his search. Unceremoniously, he unclipped the anchors wrapped behind her knees before flopping down on the bed next to her. “You had me worried for a moment, there! Glad to see it was just a little sensory overload.” He rolled over and slipped his fingers under her tail, running them along her lips and tweaking her clit with a soft pinch.

“Oh fuck! Stop!” she cried, falling over sideways in an attempt to wriggle away. “Sorry… I'm waaaAAAAYY too sensitive right now. Just… just give me a second.” she tucked her tail tight between her legs, covering her overstimulated sex. 

“Just as well… “ he said through a dopey grin, the endorphins already fuzzing his mind, “I think you’ve been punished plenty for tonight.” As he said this, he rolled over onto his knees, shuffling closer to her before kneeling down to start untying her legs. She laid in a comfortable stupor while he drunkenly unwrapped her hobbles, the products of their lovemaking slowly leaking out of her. When he finished removing the first tie, he massaged the matted fur of her thighs and ankles, earning him a stream of contented little growls. When he finished untying the second one, he scratched at the base of her tail, earning him even more happy groans as he teased it back up to a full hike. He took the opportunity to gently pull the plug out of Julie, dragging a low moan out of her as she dilated around the bulb. With a wet pop, it slipped the rest of the way out, marshalling a rush of fluids from her sex as it went.

Dylan scooched his way up behind Julie, careful to keep the plug from touching the bed coverings. He set it down on its base on the table, well away from any other items - just one more thing to deal with in the morning. As gently as possible, he began to untie her harness, rubbing and gently massaging wherever the rope had been. He paid special attention her breasts, cupping them gently, and taking care to avoid any undue rubbing on her inflamed nipples. The last thing he untied was her wrists. As the final piece of rope slid away he rubbed her forearms, working his way down from her elbows to her hands, taking them in his with a loving squeeze. Gently, he guided her free arm around to her side, before rolling her gently over freeing the other arm and leaving her face to face with him. Getting up for a moment, he cleared the last of the toys off the bed and grabbed a spare blanket from the closet, not wanting to get her up to get under the covers.

They lay in bed together, face to face, a blanket thrown haphazardly over their lower halves to keep warm. He kept an arm wrapped around her, rubbing her back while she idly traced her claws in little patterns along his chest. As she slowly came down from her massive endorphin high, a shadow of worry crept its way across her face. Picking up on it, Dylan broke the comfortable silence that has settled over them.  
“You know, I almost prefer our usual routine.” he mumbled sleepily, giving her a lazy smile. “I kinda like it when you can wrap your arms around me.”

“I know… Still… It was kinda fun to try something new.” She forced a mischievous grin, before giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thanks again… sir.” Looking at her again, he noticed that while one hand was tracing lines into his skin, the other had been playing lightly with her collar. 

“You’re most welcome… pet." He said, giving her a quick squeeze and a kiss on the snout. "Don’t worry, by the way, I don’t exactly plan on pitching any of this stuff. I’m sure that now and again some ...discipline… may be in order.”

“You wouldn’t want me getting smug like some lynx, now, would you?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. 

“You - “ he gave her another quick kiss, “ - read entirely too much on those weird Uzbek Calligraphy forums. If you need an itch scratched, you know I’m only a phone call away… or closer, come spring.”

“Wait… what happens next spring?” she asked, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

“Well… if you’re planning on staying around here, you’re going to need a place… probably somewhere nearby. I was thinking - if you’re alright with it - that you could maybe just, like, move in here.”

“Oh, uh… that’d be wonderful. If you’re really serious, then absolutely.” While he was delighted that she’d be willing to move in together, the lack of enthusiasm spiked his worry.

“Hey, Jules. What’s wrong? It seems like something’s bothering you.” She looked away, apparently too embarrassed to hold his gaze. While he waited for her to form an answer, he moved a hand to her upper arm, gently rubbing the band of disheveled fur where the ropes from the harness had dug in. 

“Oh, it’s just those pictures… you’re the only person who’s ever going to see them, right?”

Dylan was momentarily taken aback by her response. In his surprise, he let out a genuine laugh. “Worried about /me/, now? You /did/ just trust me to tie you up naked in a full body bind.” With that, he kissed her lightly on the forehead. Julie, however, didn’t respond, nor did she look the slightest bit reassured.  
“Hey… Hey now. You know I’d never share these with anyone - “ as he was talking, he rolled away from her, grabbed his camera off the bedside table, and shook it in front of her for emphasis. “- Anyone except for you. ...maybe. If you’re lucky!” he pulled the camera in close to his chest as if to protect his treasure. He could see, however, that Julie still looked conflicted, a worried frown playing across her face.  
“Wait… Hold on a moment. Julie, if you’re really that worried about these getting out - about me being careless with them or whatever - just say the word and they’re gone. Deleted. Erased from history… I still love you either way.”

“No! …No…" she repeated, barely above a whisper. “After everything you’ve done for me tonight? They’re my gift to you. I, uhhh… I want you to have something so you’ll always remember me as I am tonight… As yours.” A veil of silence settled over the two, punctuated only by a sharp gasping inhale from Dylan. He rolled away from Julie to set his camera back on the nightstand, one arm still trapped under her neck, before rolling forcefully back and wrapping her in a massive bear hug. With her arms again trapped, this time by his tight embrace, all she could do was lean into his chest, moving her head towards his. Craning his neck somewhat, he pressed the side of his head to hers, hooking his chin on her shoulder.

“God, I… I love you so much Jules. I’ll never forget the way you looked… the way you felt… hell -” he took a racked breath, his face at the root of her ear, breathing her in. “even the way you smelled tonight.”  
As he shuddered, squeezing her tight, she felt a cool drop hit her temple, nestling under her fur to come to rest on the sensitive skin below. As she realized what it was, Julie thrashed in Dylan’s arms, forcing enough space between them to get her arms free. Immediately she dove back into him, slipping her arms under his, and hugging back violently.  
“Juliana… I’ll treasure them and what they mean to you… to me. They'll be our little secret. Forever… heh” he forced out a choked little laugh, looking down and away from her.

“Thank you…” she replied, pressing her forehead against his and hugging tighter still. “...sir.”


End file.
